Fawzia Fuad of Egypt

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Fawzia Fuad
Princess of Egypt and Iran
Princess Fawzia bint Fuad of Egypt.jpg
Queen consort of Iran
Tenure 16 September 1941 – 17 November 1948
Born (1921-11-05)5 November 1921
Ras el-Tin Palace, Alexandria, Sultanate of Egypt
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Alexandria, Egypt
Burial 3 July 2013
Cairo, Egypt
Spouse Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
(m. 1939; div. 1948)
Ismail Chirine
(m. 1949; d. 1994)
Issue Shahnaz Pahlavi
Nadia Chirine
Hussein Chirine
Full name
English: Fawzia Fuad
Arabic: فوزية فؤاد‎‎
Persian: فوزيه فواد‎‎
House Muhammad Ali dynasty (by birth)
Pahlavi dynasty (by marriage)
Father Fuad I of Egypt
Mother Nazli Sabri

Fawzia Fuad of Egypt (Arabic: الأميرة فوزية فؤاد‎‎, Persian: شاهدخت فوزیه فؤاد‎‎; 5 November 1921 – 2 July 2013) was an Egyptian princess who became Queen of Iran as the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Princess Fawzia was the daughter of Fuad I, the seventh son of Ismail the Magnificent. She descended from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty.[1][2][3] She was also known as Fawzia Chirine (or Shirin), having married to Colonel Ismail Chirine, Egyptian diplomat of Circassian origin, in 1949. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, her royal titles were no longer recognized by the Egyptian government. Until her death in 2013, she was the oldest 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.

Early life and education

Princess Fawzia was born Her Sultanic Highness Princess Fawzia bint Fuad at Ras el-Tin Palace, Alexandria, the eldest daughter of Sultan Fuad I of Egypt and Sudan (later King Fuad I), and his second wife, Nazli Sabri on 5 November 1921.[4] Her maternal great-grandfather was Major-General Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, who was of Albanian origin.[5] 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 Fathia, and her brother, Farouk,[6] she had two half-siblings from her father's previous marriage to Princess Shwikar Khanum Effendi. Princess Fawzia was educated in Switzerland[4] and was fluent in English and French in addition to her native Arabic.[7]

Her beauty was often compared to that of film stars Hedy Lamarr and Vivien Leigh.[8]

Marriages and children

First marriage

The marriage of Princess Fawzia to Iran's Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was planned by the latter's father, Rezā Shāh.[9][10] A declassified CIA report in May 1972 described the union as a political move.[11] On the other hand, the marriage was significant in that it united a Sunni royal, the Princess, and a Shia royal, the Crown Prince.[12]

Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi were engaged in May 1938.[13][14] However, they saw each other only once before their wedding.[15] They married at the Abdeen Palace in Cairo on 15 March 1939.[12][16] When they returned to Iran the wedding ceremony was repeated at Marble Palace, Tehran, which was also their future residence.[7][15]

Following the marriage, the Princess was granted Iranian nationality.[17] 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."[16] She led the newly founded Association for the Protection of Pregnant Women and Children (APPWC) in Iran.[18]

With Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi she had one child, a daughter:[19]

The marriage was not a success. Queen Fawzia (the title of empress was not yet used in Iran at that time) moved to Cairo in May 1945[21] and obtained an Egyptian divorce. The reason for her return was that she viewed Tehran underdeveloped in contrast to modern, cosmopolitan Cairo.[22][23] In addition, she had difficult times due to infidelity of the shah and suffered malaria and depression.[24] She consulted an American psychiatrist in Baghdad for her troubles shortly before she left Tehran.[21] On the other hand, CIA reports claim that Princess Fawzia ridiculed and humiliated the Shah due to his impotence, leading to their separation.[23] In her book Ashraf Pahlavi, twin sister of the Shah, argues that it was the Princess not the Shah who asked for divorce.[15]

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.[25] Incidentally, Queen Fawzia’s brother, King Farouk, also divorced his first wife, Queen Farida, in November 1948.[25][26]

In the official announcement of the divorce, it was stated that "the Persian climate had endangered the health of Empress 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."[27] After her divorce Princess Fawzia headed the Egyptian court.[22]

Gallery

  • Queen Fawzia with Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlevi and their daughter, Princess Shahnaz in Tehran during the Second World War.

  • Fawzia+Reza.jpg

    The wedding ceremony of Princess Fawzia and Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. From left to right: King Farouk of Egypt (the bride's brother), Princess Fawzia (the bride) and the Crown Prince of Iran (the groom).

  • Commemoration Medallion of Marriage of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and Princess Fawzia of Egypt - March 1939.JPG

    Commemoration Medallion of Marriage of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and Princess Fawzia of Egypt – March 1939 – The medallion is now in Sahebgharanie palace in Niavaran Palace complex.

Second marriage

File:Fawzia-ismail.jpg
Princess Fawzia with Ismail Shirin.

On 28 March 1949, at the Koubba Palace in Cairo, Princess Fawzia married Colonel Ismail Chirine (or Shirin) (1919–1994), who was the eldest son of Husain Chirine Bey and his wife, HH Princess Amina Bihruz Khanum Effendi.[28][29] He was a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge and a one-time Egyptian minister of war and the navy. Following the wedding they lived in an estate owned by the Princess in Maadi, Cairo.[29][30] They also resided in a villa in Smouha, Alexandria.[31]

They had two children, one daughter and one son:[32]

  • Nadia Khanum (19 December 1950, Cairo[33] – October 2009). She married first (and divorced) Yusuf Shabaan, an Egyptian actor,[31] and second with Mustafa Rashid. She had two daughters, one with her first husband, and another with her second husband:
    • Sinai Shabaan (born October 1973)[31]
    • Fawzia Rashid
  • Husain Chirine Effendi (born 1955, Giza)

Later life and death

Fawzia lived in Egypt after the 1952 revolution that toppled King Farouk.[34] 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. In her later life, Princess Fawzia lived in Alexandria, Egypt, where she died on 2 July 2013 at the age of 91.[4][35] Funeral ceremony was held after noon prayers at Sayeda Nafisa Mosque in Cairo on 3 July.[36] She was buried in Cairo next to her second husband.[16]

Legacy

A town in Iran, Fawziabad, was named for Princess Fawzia in 1939.[7] A street in Maadi, Cairo, was again named for her in 1950 as Amira Fawzia street, but in 1956 it was renamed as Mustafa Kamel street.[37]

Titles, styles and honours

Titles and styles from birth

Styles of
Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Iran
Imperial Coat of Arms of Iran.svg
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 and Royal Highness Princess Fawzia of Egypt and of Iran (15–16 March 1939) (a day before her first marriage she was granted the title Shahdokht (Princess) with style Imperial Highness)
  • Her Imperial and Royal Highness The Crown Princess of Iran, Princess of Egypt (1939–1941)
  • Her Imperial Majesty The Queen of Iran (1941–1948)
  • Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Iran (1948–1949)
  • Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Iran, Mrs Shirin (1952–1994)
  • Her Imperial and Royal Highness Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Iran, Dowager Mrs Shirin (1994–2013)

Honours

Ancestry

Family of Fawzia Fuad of Egypt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16. Muhammad Ali Pasha, Wāli of Egypt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Ibrahim Pasha, Wāli of Egypt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17. Amina Nosratli
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. Hoshiar Walda
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Fuad I, King of Egypt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Ferial Hanem
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. Princess Fawzia of Egypt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. Abdel Rahim Sabri Pasha, Governor of Cairo
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Nazli Sabri
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28. Muhammad Said, Qadi of Mecca
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14. Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Prime Minister of Egypt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. Tewfika Hanim
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30. Joseph Anthelme Sève (Suleiman Pasha)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15. Nazli Hanim
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 31. Mariam Hanim
 
 
 
 
 
 

References

  1. ↑ In the house of Muhammad Ali: a family album, 1805–1952 By Hassan Hassan
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ The New York Times
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ "2 Moslem Rulers let the man and wife divorce if they need to", The New York Times, 20 November 1948, page 1.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Fawzia Fuad of Egypt
Born: 5 November 1921 Died: 2 July 2013
Iranian royalty
Preceded by Queen consort of Iran
1941–1948		 Vacant
Title next held by
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari
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