Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt
| Princess Fawzia (Fawzeya) | |
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| Princess of Egypt and of Iran | |
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| Tenure | 16 September 1941 – 17 November 1948 (7 years, 62 days) |
| Spouse | Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (m.1939; div.1948) Ismail Hussain Shirin Bey (m.1949; d.1994) |
| Issue | |
| Shahnaz Pahlavi Nadia Shirin Hussein Shirin |
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| House | Muhammad Ali Dynasty (by birth) Pahlavi Dynasty (by marriage, then by daughter after divorce) |
| Father | Fuad I of Egypt |
| Mother | Nazli Sabri |
| Born | 5 November 1921 Ras Al-Teen Palace, Alexandria, Egypt |
Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt (Persian: شاهدخت فوزیه Arabic: الأميرة فوزية) (born 5 November 1921) is an Egyptian princess who became Queen of Iran as the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
She is currently Fawzia Shirin, having remarried in 1949 and having her royal titles no longer recognized by the Egyptian government after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, she is still commonly referred to as princess out of courtesy. She is the most senior member of the deposed Muhammad Ali Dynasty residing in Egypt. Her nephew, Fuad, who was proclaimed King Fuad II of Egypt and Sudan after the Revolution, resides in Switzerland.
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[edit] Early life
She was born Her Sultanic Highness Princess Fawzia bint Fuad at Ras el-Tin Palace in Alexandria, the eldest daughter of Sultan Fuad I of Egypt and Sudan (later King Fuad I), and his second wife, Nazli Sabri. Her maternal great-grandfather was Major-General Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, who was of Albanian origin.[1] One of her great-great-grandfathers was Suleiman Pasha, a French army officer who served under Napoleon, converted to Islam, and oversaw an overhaul of the Egyptian army. In addition to her sisters, Faiza, Faika, and Fathiya, and her brother, Farouk, she had two half-siblings from her father's previous marriage to Princess Shivakiar Khanum Effendi.
[edit] Marriages and children
[edit] First marriage to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the future Shah
From left to right: King Farouk of Egypt (the bride's brother), Princess Fawzia (the bride) and the Crown Prince of Iran (the groom).
Princess Fawzia of Egypt married Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980), the Crown Prince of Iran, at the Abdeen Palace in Cairo, on 16 March 1939; after their honeymoon, the wedding ceremonies were repeated in Tehran. Two years later, the crown prince succeeded his exiled father and was to become the Shah of Iran. Soon after her husband’s ascent to the throne, Queen Fawzia appeared on the cover of the 21 September 1942, issue of Life magazine, photographed by Cecil Beaton, who described her as an “Asian Venus” with “a perfect heart-shaped face and strangely pale but piercing blue eyes.”
With Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi she had one child, a daughter:
- HIH Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi (born 27 October 1940)
The marriage was not a success. After the birth of the couple’s daughter, Queen Fawzia (the title of empress was not yet used in Iran at that time) obtained an Egyptian divorce in 1945, whereupon she moved to Cairo. This divorce was first not recognized for several years by Iran, but eventually an official divorce was obtained in Iran, on 17 November 1948, with Queen Fawzia successfully reclaiming her previous distinction of Princess of Egypt as well. A major condition of the divorce was that her daughter be left behind to be raised in Iran. Curiously, Queen Fawzia’s brother, King Farouk, divorced his first wife, Queen Farida, the same week.
In the official announcement of the divorce, it was stated that “the Persian climate had endangered the health of Empress [sic] Fawzia, and that thus it was agreed that the Egyptian King’s sister be divorced.” In another official statement, the Shah said that the dissolution of the marriage “cannot affect by any means the existing friendly relations between Egypt and Iran.”[2]
[edit] Second marriage to Colonel Ismail Shirin
On 28 March 1949, in Cairo, Princess Fawzia married Colonel Ismail Shirin Bey (1919–1994), who was the eldest son of Husain Shirin Bey and his wife, HH Princess Amina Bihruz Khanum Effendi. He was a one-time Egyptian Minister of War and the Navy. The couple had two children, one daughter and one son:
- Nadia Khanum (December 1950, Cairo - October 2009). She married first (and divorced) Yusuf Shaba’an and second with Mustafa Rashid. She had two daughters, one with her first husband, and another with her second husband:
- Sinai (born October 1973, daughter of Yusuf Shaba’an)
- Fawzia Rashid (daughter of Mustafa Rashid)
- Husain Shirin Effendi (born 1955, Giza)
[edit] Other
Princess Fawzia’s death was mistakenly reported in January 2005. Journalists had confused her with her niece, Princess Fawzia Farouk (1940–2005), one of the three daughters of King Farouk. As of 2011 she lives in Alexandria, Egypt.
[edit] Titles, styles and honours
[edit] Titles and styles from birth
| Styles of Princess Fawzia of Egypt and of Iran |
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| Reference style | Her Imperial & Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Imperial & Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
- Her Sultanic Highness Princess Fawzia of Egypt (1921–1922)
- Her Royal Highness Princess Fawzia of Egypt (1922–1939, 1949-1952)
- Her Imperial & Royal Highness Princess Fawzia of Egypt and of Iran (15–16 March 1939), a day before marriage granted title Shahdokht (Princess) with style Imperial Highness
- Her Imperial & Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Iran, Princess of Egypt (1939–1941)
- Her Imperial Majesty The Queen of Iran (1941–1948)
- Her Imperial & Royal Highness Princess Fawzia of Egypt and of Iran (1948–1949)
- Her Imperial & Royal Highness Princess Fawzia of Egypt and of Iran, Mrs Shirin (1952–present)
[edit] Honours
- Decoration of al-Kemal in brilliants (Egypt, 16 May 1939)
- Grand Cross of the Order of Pahlavi (Iran, 27 October 1940)
| Egyptian Royal Family |
Extended family members
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[edit] Ancestry
Princess Fazia, born an Egyptian citizen, was also of Albanian, Circassian, and French descent. Princess Fawzia was a member of the Muhammad Ali dynasty, a family of Albanian origin.[3][4]
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[edit] References
- ^ Goldschmidt, Arthur (2000). Biographical dictionary of modern Egypt. Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 191. ISBN 1555872298.
- ^ "2 Moslem Rulers let the man and wife divorce if they need to ", The New York Times, 20 November 1948, page 1.
- ^ In the house of Muhammad Ali: a family album, 1805-1952 By Hassan Hassan
- ^ http://www.travelinstyle.com/egypt/king_farouk/PrincessFawzia.htm
- ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh, ed (1980). "The French Ancestry of King Farouk of Egypt". Burke's Royal Families of the World. Volume II: Africa & the Middle East. London: Burke's Peerage. p. 287. ISBN 9780850110296. OCLC 18496936.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt |
- Pandora's Box
- 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.
- Chirine Family tree
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Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt
Born: 5 November 1921 |
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| Iranian royalty | ||
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| Preceded by Tadj ol-Molouk |
Queen consort of Iran 1941–1948 |
Vacant
Title next held by
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari |
