Nazli Sabri (June 25, 1894 - May 29, 1978), was the
Queen consortA queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles...
of
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
, (May 26, 1919 - April 28, 1936) as the second wife of
King FuadFuad I , was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, Kordofan, and Darfur. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, he became Sultan of Egypt and Sudan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Sultan Husayn Kamil...
. She was the daughter of Abdu'r-Rahim Pasha Sabri, Minister of Agriculture and Governor of
CairoCairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab World. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life...
, by his wife, Tawfika Khanum Sharif. Queen Nazli also was the maternal granddaughter of Major-General
Muhammad Sharif PashaMuhammad Sharif Pasha was an Egyptian statesman, and originally a Circassians. 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 was served from September 14, 1881 to February 4, 1882...
, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs. She was also a great-granddaughter of
Suleiman PashaSuleiman Pasha was a French-born Egyptian commander...
.
Early life
Nazli Abdel Rehim Sabry first went to the Mere de Dieu School in
CairoCairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab World. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life...
and later to the Dame de Sion in
AlexandriaAlexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports...
.
Marriage to King FuadFuad I , was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, Kordofan, and Darfur. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, he became Sultan of Egypt and Sudan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Sultan Husayn Kamil...
HM Queen Nazli Fouad was married to the future
HM King FuadFuad I , was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, Kordofan, and Darfur. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, he became Sultan of Egypt and Sudan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Sultan Husayn Kamil...
, at that time
sultanSultan is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. Originally it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", or "rulership", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power"...
, at Bustan sarayi,
CairoCairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab World. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a center of the region's political and cultural life...
on May 26, 1919. She gave birth to HM King Faruk and HRHs Princesses: Fawziya, Fayza, Faika, Fathiya. In 1922, her spouse, sultan Fuad, took the title of king, which made Nazli the first Queen of Egypt in centuries.
Confined to the palace through most of King Fouad's reign, Queen Nazli was nonetheless allowed to attend opera performances, flower shows and other ladies-only cultural events. She also accompanied the King during part of his four-month tour of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
in 1927 and was much feted in
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
in view of her French origins. With the introduction of parliament in 1924 the queen was among the royal attendees at parliament's opening ceremony seated in a special section of the guest gallery.
Life during Farouk's reign
After the death of
King FuadFuad I , was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, Kordofan, and Darfur. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, he became Sultan of Egypt and Sudan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Sultan Husayn Kamil...
in 1936, her son
FaroukFarouk I of Egypt , was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936. He was considered the first native Egyptian monarch for millennia despite his mixed roots...
became the new King of Egypt, and she became the
Queen MotherQueen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in England since at least 1577...
of
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
. Her brother
Sherif Sabri PashaSherif Sabri Pasha 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 the latter's minority...
served on the three-member
Regency Councilright|thumb|Regency Council: Ostrowski, Kakowski, LubomirskiThe Regency Council of the Kingdom of Poland was a semi-independent and temporary highest authority during World War I, formed by Germany and Austria-Hungary in the occupied Polish territories in September 1917. It was supposed to stay...
that was formed during Farouk's minority. Queen mother Nazli lived a much more independent life as a widow: described as still a very attractive woman, she had a couple of romantic relationships and were even enterred in to a morganatic marriage, which, however, caused tentions in the relationship with her son: after a prolonged rift with her son, Nazli left Egypt and went to the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Life outside Egypt
She converted to Catholicism in 1950 and took the name Mary Elizabeth, and as a result she was deprived of her rights and titles in
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
by her son on August 1 1950 . She eventually settled and died in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
She was given a Catholic funeral.
Queen Nazli and public perception
Queen Nazli possessed one of the largest jewelry collection in the world and always topped the list of the world's richest and most elegant women.