King of Egypt and the Sudan ( ') was the title used by the Egyptian monarch from 16 October 1951 until the abolition of the monarchy on 18 June 1953. In 1951, the

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

ian

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

amended the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

by Law 176 of 16 October 1951 to provide that the title of the King should be "King of Egypt and the Sudan" instead of "

King of Egypt King of Egypt () was the title used by the ruler of Egypt between 1922 and 1951. When the United Kingdom issued the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence on 28 February 1922, thereby ending its protectorate over Egypt, Egypt's Sult ...

, Sovereign of

Nubia Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...

, Sudan,

Kordofan Kordofan ( ar, كردفان ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory ...

, and Darfur". This move came in the wake of

Wafdist The New Wafd Party ( ar, حزب الوفد الجديد, , New Delegation Party), officially the Egyptian Wafd Party and also known as the Al-Wafd Party, is a nationalist liberal party in Egypt. It is the extension of one of the oldest and his ...

Prime Minister Nahhas Pasha's decision to unilaterally abrogate the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. The change in King

Farouk I 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 ...

's title was intended to further Egypt's claims over the Sudan, which had been an

Anglo-Egyptian condominium Anglo-Egyptian Sudan ( ar, السودان الإنجليزي المصري ') was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt in the Sudans region of northern Africa between 1899 and 1956, corresponding mostly to the territory of present-day ...

since 1899. The title had long been used by Egyptian nationalists to emphasize their desire for the unity of the Nile Valley. For instance, expatriate Egyptian students in France greeted Farouk I during his 1937 tour of Europe by proclaiming "Long live the King of Egypt and Sudan". A Member of Parliament is also reported to have cried out "Long live His Majesty, King of Egypt and Sudan!" during Farouk I's coronation ceremony. However, the title had no legal standing prior to 1951, and Farouk I was officially "Sovereign of the Sudan" (not King) until the Wafdist government's decision to change his title. The title "King of the Sudan" was merely ceremonial, as the Egyptian King did not exercise effective control over Sudan, which was administered by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The British objected to the title and did not recognize it, claiming that Egypt needed to respect the Sudanese people's right to self-determination. Many other countries also refused to recognize Farouk I as "King of the Sudan", notably the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, as well as the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

. The only other monarch to officially use the title "King of Egypt and the Sudan" besides Farouk I was his infant son Fuad II. The title was used very briefly, as the Egyptian monarchy was abolished on 18 June 1953. Despite its short-lived existence, the title was used as an

overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...

on numerous Egyptian

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...

s. Many of extant stamps showing Farouk I's portrait thus bear the Arabic inscription "King of Egypt and the Sudan".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egypt And The Sudan, King Of Kings of Egypt Kings of Sudan Egyptian royal titles History of Sudan Egypt–Sudan relations

See also

References