Princess Faiza (; 8 November 1923 – 6 June 1994) was an

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

princess and a member of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty.

Early life

Princess Faiza was born in the

Abdeen Palace Abdeen Palace ( ar, قصر عابدين) is a historic Cairo palace built as one of the official residences for the former ruling monarchy and royal family of Egypt. It is now one of the official residences and the principal workplace of the Pr ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

, on 8 November 1923. She was the third child of

King Fuad I Fuad I ( ar, فؤاد الأول ''Fu’ād al-Awwal''; tr, I. Fuad or ; 26 March 1868 – 28 April 1936) was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and the Sudan. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, he became Sulta ...

and

Nazli Sabri Nazli Sabri ( ar, نازلي صبري; 25 June 1894 – 29 May 1978) was the first queen consort in the Kingdom of Egypt from 1919 to 1936. She was the second wife of Fuad I, King of Egypt. Early life Nazli was born on 25 June 1894 into a fam ...

. Princess Faiza was the sister of

King Farouk Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...

, Princess Fawzia, Princess Faika and Princess Fathia. Her maternal great-grandfather was Major-General

Muhammad Sharif Pasha Mohamed Sherif Pasha GCSI (1826–1887) ( ar, محمد شريف باشا) was an Egyptian statesman. He served as Prime Minister of Egypt three times during his career. His first term was between April 7, 1879 and August 18, 1879. His second te ...

, prime minister and minister for foreign affairs, who was of Turkish origin.

Marriage and activities

Princess Faiza did not want to marry a member of the Middle East royal family. Instead, she married her Turkish cousin

Bulent Rauf Bulent Rauf (Istanbul 1911 – Chisholme House, Roberton, Scottish Borders 1987) was a Turkish-British mystic, spiritual teacher, translator and author. From 1945 to the early sixties, he was married to Princess Faiza, sister of King Farouk of E ...

, who was thirty-four years old, in Cairo on 17 May 1945. Their marriage was arranged through familial relations. He was a Western educated man and the grandson of Ismail Pasha. King Farouk did not support their marriage, but reluctantly endorsed it. Princess Faiza and her husband lived in the Zohria Palace on

Gezira Island Gezira is an island in the Nile, in central Cairo, Egypt. The southern portion of the island contains the Gezira district, and the northern third contains the Zamalek district. Gezira is west of downtown Cairo and Tahrir Square, connected acr ...

on the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

after their marriage. Princess Faiza was instrumental in Princess Fawzia’s long period of convalescence in Egypt after divorcing from the

Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in 1948. Faiza was one of the leading figures of the

Red Crescent Society The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...

in Egypt during the reign of King Farouk. King Farouk put her and her husband under house arrest due to his suspicion. She and her husband launched a homemade film about a military coup six weeks before the events of 1952. They had no issue, and divorced in 1962.

Later life and death

After the abdication of King Farouk following the 1952 Revolution in Egypt, Princess Faiza moved to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

in 1954. Then, she and her husband went to Spain and France. Next, she went to the US and settled in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

, leaving her husband in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. Princess Faiza died on 9 June 1994 at the age of 70 in

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south ...

Honours

EGY - Order of the Virtues - Supreme and first classes

Decoration of Al Kemal in brilliants.

Ancestry

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fazia 20th-century Egyptian women 1923 births 1994 deaths Daughters of kings Egyptian Muslims Egyptian people of Albanian descent Egyptian people of Circassian descent Egyptian people of Turkish descent Egyptian princesses Egyptian expatriates in France Egyptian expatriates in Germany Egyptian expatriates in Turkey Egyptian expatriates in the United States Muhammad Ali dynasty