Nazli Sabri ( ar, نازلي صبري; 25 June 1894 – 29 May 1978) was the first queen consort in the

Kingdom of Egypt The Kingdom of Egypt ( ar, المملكة المصرية, Al-Mamlaka Al-Miṣreyya, The Egyptian Kingdom) was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's reign, from the United Kingdom's recog ...

from 1919 to 1936. She was the second wife of

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 ...

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 ...

Early life

Nazli was born on 25 June 1894 into a family of

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 ...

, Turkish,

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, and French origin. Her father was

Abdur Rahim Sabri Pasha Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; ar, عبد ال, ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, mea ...

, minister of agriculture and governor of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, and her mother was Tawfika Khanum Sharif. Nazli had a brother,

Sherif Sabri Pasha Sherif Sabri Pasha (), born in Cairo in 1895, was the brother of Nazli Sabri, Queen consort of Egypt. He was thus the maternal uncle of Nazli's son King Farouk I, and served on the three-member Regency Council that was formed in 1936-37 during ...

, and a sister,

Amina Sabri Aminatu (also Amina; died 1610) was a Hausa Muslim historical figure in the city-state Zazzau (now city of Zaria in Kaduna State), in what is now in the north-west region of Nigeria. She might have ruled in the mid-sixteenth century. A controve ...

. She was the maternal granddaughter of Major General

Mohamed Sherif 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 term ...

, prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, who was of Turkish origin. She was also a great-granddaughter of the French-born officer Suleiman Pasha. Nazli first went to the Lycée de la Esclave-de-Dieu in Cairo, and later to the Collège Notre-Dame de Sion in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

. Following the death of her mother, she and her sister were sent to a boarding school in Paris for two years. After returning, Nazli was forced to marry her cousin, Khalil Sabri. However, the marriage ended in divorce after eleven months. After the separation, she stayed at the house of Safiya Zaghloul, where she met Zaghloul's nephew Saeed Zaghloul; the two were engaged until Saeed broke up with her during his exile with his uncle

Saad Zaghloul Saad Zaghloul ( ar, سعد زغلول / ; also ''Sa'd Zaghloul Pasha ibn Ibrahim'') (July 1859 – 23 August 1927) was an Egyptian revolutionary and statesman. He was the leader of Egypt's nationalist Wafd Party. He led a civil disobedience ...

following the 1919 revolution.

Queen

The official Nazli Sabri birthday picture

The

Sultan of Egypt Sultan of Egypt was the status held by the rulers of Egypt after the establishment of the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin in 1174 until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Though the extent of the Egyptian Sultanate ebbed and flowed, it generally i ...

first saw Nazli at an opera performance. On 12 May 1919, Fuad proposed to her, although he was 26 years her senior. On 24 May 1919 Nazli married Sultan Fuad I at

Bustan Palace Bostan, Bustan, Boustan or Boostan () may refer to: Places Iran * Shahrak-e Bostan, Fars Province * Bostan, Kerman, Kerman Province * Bostan, Iran, Khuzestan Province ** Bostan District (Dasht-e Azadegan County), Khuzestan province ** Bostan Ru ...

, Cairo. It was the second marriage for both Nazli and Fuad. She later moved to the ''haramlek'' in the Abbasiya Palace. She was under pressure from her husband to produce a son, and was warned that she would be confined to the haremlek if she did not do so. After the birth of their only son, Farouk, she was allowed to move into

Koubbeh Palace Koubbeh Palace, (Arabic ) is one of the various Egyptian palaces which serve as the country's official guest house for visiting dignitaries. The palace was most likely originally built in the mid-19th century and sold to Khedive Ismail in 1866 ...

, the official royal residence, with her husband. When Fuad's title was altered to

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, she was given the title of Queen. She then had four daughters:

Fawzia Fawzia or Faouzia or Fouzia is an Arabic personal name. Notable people named Fawzia or alternative spellings include: Fawzia *Fawzia Yusuf H. Adam, Somali politician, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia * ...

Faiza Faiza () is a female Arabic name meaning "successful, victorious, beneficial". Variants include: Faizah, Faiza, Fayzah, Fayza, Faeyza, Faeyzah, Faihza, Faaiza, Faaizah, Fiza, Faisa, Fayeza, Fayiza, Faeeza.; and related to the male names Faiz, Fa ...

, Faika, and Fathia. Restricted to the palace throughout most of Fuad's reign, she was permitted to attend opera performances, flower shows, and other ladies-only cultural events. As her upbringing had left her remarkably educated, cultured and emancipated for an Egyptian woman of the time, she found this prescribed existence backward and stifling. It was said that whenever the royal couple fought, she was slapped by the king and confined to her suite for weeks. It was also alleged that she tried to commit suicide by overdosing on aspirin. Nazli accompanied the king during part of his four-month tour of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

in 1927, and was much fêted in France because of her French ancestry. With the inauguration of Parliament in 1924, she was among the royal attendees at the opening ceremony, seated in a special section of the guest gallery.

Later years

Following the death of King Fuad in 1936, her son Farouk became the new King of Egypt, and she became the

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

. Her brother Sherif Sabri Pasha served on the three-member

Regency Council A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

that was formed during Farouk's minority. In 1946, Nazli left Egypt and went to 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 territorie ...

for treatment for a kidney ailment. On 13 September 1950 King Farouk deprived the Queen Mother, and her daughter Princess Fathia of their rights and titles. This was due to latter's marriage, which Nazli supported, but was against Farouk's wishes, to

Riyad Ghali Riyad Ghali (born Riyad Bishay Ghali; 11 February 191912 July 1987) was the husband of Fathia Ghali the youngest daughter of King Fuad I and Nazli Sabri. Marriage, divorce and death While in the United States, Riad Ghali married Princess Fathi ...

Effendi Effendi or effendy ( tr, efendi ; ota, افندی, efendi; originally from grc-x-medieval, αφέντης ) is a title of nobility meaning ''sir'', ''lord'' or ''master'', especially in the Ottoman Empire and the Caucasus''.'' The title it ...

, a Coptic Christian. Nazli later converted to Christianity, changing her name to Mary-Elizabeth. In 1955 Nazli purchased, for $63,000, a 28-room mansion in Beverley Hills, where she lived with Fathia, her son-in-law, and their two children, and led an active social life. In 1965, Nazli attended the funeral of Farouk, in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Following Fathia's divorce, Nazli moved to a small apartment 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 ...

, where Fathia eventually joined her after temporarily moving to Hawaii.Goodkind, Mike "Ex-princess loses last of fortune", The Free Lance Star, 21 September 1976 To meet debt demands, in 1975 Nazli sent her principal jewellery to auction at

Sothebys Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

, including a magnificent art deco tiara (720 diamonds weighing 274 carats) and matching necklace commissioned in 1938 from

Van Cleef & Arpels Van Cleef & Arpels is a French high-end luxury jewelry company. It was founded in 1896 by the Dutch diamond-cutter Alfred Van Cleef and his father-in-law Salomon Arpels in Paris. Their pieces often feature flowers, animals, and fairies, and hav ...

. They sold for $127,500 and $140,000 respectively. However, Nazli and Fathia still ended up in bankruptcy court. In 1978, Fathia's jewellery was also sold to meet debts. In 1976, President of Egypt,

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

, sent a proposal to Queen Nazli and Princess Fathia that passports would be provided to Queen Nazli and Princess Fathia to give them right of return to Egypt. Eventually she settled in the US, due to her painful illness. She died on 29 May 1978 at the age of 83 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Legacy

Queen Nazli's art deco necklace reappeared at a

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

sale in December 2015. The Queen ordered the

necklace along with a matching tiara for her daughter's (Fawzia) wedding. The necklace is formed by 600 round and baguette diamonds arranged in a sunburst motif.

Titles and styles

*26 May 1919 – 15 March 1922: ''Her Gloriness'' The Sultana *15 March 1922 – 18 January 1938: ''Her Majesty'' The Queen *18 January 1938 – 8 August 1950: ''Her Majesty'' Queen Nazli

In popular culture

In 2007, Queen Nazli was played by Egyptian actress Wafaa Amer in the Drama "El-malek Farouk". In 2008, Rawia Rashed published a book about Queen Nazli, titled ''Nazli, Malika Fi El Manfa'' (''Nazli, A Queen in Exile''). Based on this book, an Egyptian TV series provided an account for the life of Queen Nazli, Queen in Exile, starring Egyptian actress Nadia Al Jundi in 2010.

References

Bibliography

External links

Egyptian Royalty
by Ahmed S. Kamel, Hassan Kamel Kelisli-Morali, Georges Soliman and Magda Malek.
L'Egypte D'Antan... Egypt in Bygone Days
by Max Karkegi. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabri, Nazli 19th-century Egyptian women 20th-century Egyptian women 1894 births 1978 deaths Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City Converts to Roman Catholicism from Islam Egyptian emigrants to the United States Egyptian former Muslims Egyptian people of French descent Egyptian people of Turkish descent Egyptian people of Greek descent Egyptian queens consort Egyptian Roman Catholics Muhammad Ali dynasty People from Alexandria Queen mothers