Egypt’s Last King

S. BALAKRISHNAN

In my philatelic collection I have only one postal stamp from Egypt, the land of Pharaohs, Pyramids, Mummies and Sphinx. But, as if to compensate, this small stamp (of size 21 x 25 mm) holds in it a very important part of Egypt’s history, that of the end of monarchy and the birth of a republic. The stamp depicts King Farouk-I, effectively the last monarch of Egypt (reigned from 1936 to 1952). As I dived deeper with the help of AI, I got interesting details of this episode.

Farouk bin Ahmed Fuad I bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin Muhammed Ali Pasha (woof!) is the full official name of King Farouk-I (F?r?q I). He was born on 11^th February 1920 in Cairo, Egypt, to the ruling monarch, King Fuad-I (of both Egypt & Sudan), and Queen Nazly, when Egypt was a British protectorate. Farouk-I became a king on February 28, 1936 at the age of 16, on the death of his father. Farouk had to cut short his studies at the Royal Military Academy, Britain, since the past six or seven months only. The boy king ruled under the custodianship council. On attaining the legal age of eighteen (according to Hijri almanac), King Farouk-I officially took the throne of Egypt on July 29, 1937. His first wife was Farida, who bore three daughters- Feryal, Fawzia, and Fadia. The King’s passion for names beginning with ‘F’ is on the advice of an Indian forecaster. As she did not bear a male child, he divorced her in 1948, after ten years of married life, and married Nariman in 1951. She gave birth to Crown Prince Ahmed Fuad II, the future king, but the King divorced even her in the next three years. In October 1951, he was titled as the king of Egypt and Sudan. He was the tenth king of a great dynasty that began with Muhammad Ali in 1805.

During his reign from 1936 to 1952, King Farouk I, faced great political challenges, namely World War-II and military humiliation following the Arab-Israel war that lead to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. The blame for the second factor was squarely laid on King Farouk. Another humiliation happened in 1942, during the midst of WW-II, when Egypt's British overlords forced him into appointing a government supporting Britain's war effort. The British compelled the King to appoint as prime minister the Wafd leader Mu??af? al-Na???s Pasha. It was seen as appeasing the British to save his throne. This humiliation was highly resented by the young officers of the army. British regime had dominated Egypt since its occupation in 1882.

These factors and his extravagant life style led to his fall from the throne. Finally, on the morning of July 23, 1952, what came to be known as the “July Revolution” broke out. In the bloodless coup of 1952, Gamal Abdel ‘Nasser’, the soon-to-be president of Egypt, and his Free Officers seized control of the state. King Farouk was just 32 years old when the Free Officers Movement, led by General Muhammad Naguib and Nasser, ousted him. Three days later, Farouk and the royal family sailed aboard the royal yacht Al Mahroussa to Italy and exile. It was the same yacht on which his grandfather Isma’il Pasha left when he was impeached in June 1879. It is to be noted that the first three presidents of Egypt, Mu?ammad Na??b, ?am?l ?Abd an-N??ir, and Mu?ammad Anwar as-S?d?t, were among the leaders of the Free Officers who led the July Revolution in 1952–1953. King Farouk abdicated in style by putting forth three conditions – his abdication would be in proper official stationery, during departure he would be given 21 gun salute at palace gate, and that the general would escort him in the yacht. The leaders of the Revolution agreed to the first two, and the King was only escorted to the yacht and not till his destination. King Farouk was seen off by General Mohamed Naguib and a few other officers of the Revolutionary Command Council on July 26, 1952.

Eleven months later, Egypt was declared a republic. General Mohammed Naguib, who overthrew the 33-year-old King Farouk, was named as Egypt’s first President and Prime Minister. Fate would have it that just after two years in power, Naguib himself would be toppled and put under house arrest for 17 long years by none other than his trusted friend, Gamal Abdul Nasser!

King F?r?q-I abdicated in favour of his infant son, Ahmad Fu??d-II, hoping to placate revolutionaries and anti-monarchist forces, but at the same time taking the child along with him into exile. As Fu??d-II was only 7-months-old, the infant king was represented by a council of regents operating under Prince Muhammad Ali. A little less than 11 months later, Egypt was declared a republic on June 18, 1953 and monarchy was abolished. Ahmed Fuad bin Farouk bin Ahmed Fuad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad Ali (formal name of Fuad-II) now lives in Switzerland.

King Farouk-I spent 13 years in exile in Rome. Aged 45, he passed away on March 18, 1965 at the Ile de France restaurant in Rome, near the Vatican City. He was hosting a midnight supper and was seen with a blonde female. It is reported that he had just finished consuming oysters and lamb when he collapsed and died instantly. His mortal remains were transported to Egypt and buried in Al Refaai Mosque beside his father King Fuad I. Effectively the last monarch of Egypt, King Farouk had inherited $100 million, five palaces, 200 cars, two yachts, and 30,000 hectares of agricultural land along the Nile but died in exile. 

A series of ‘Definitive’ stamps bearing the image of King Farouk-I were issued between 1944-52 in various colours and denominations. The face value of the stamp I have is 15 Mills (Millieme). Besides English, Arabic is also used. After his abdication, the old stamp stocks bearing his image were overprinted to obliterate his portrait. He and his father were avid stamp collectors and they had studiously built the Egyptian Royal Stamp Collection; considered as one of the world’s best, this collection was auctioned off after the 1952 July Revolution. No other king ever ruled Egypt after King Farouk-I. Long Live the King!

krishnanbala2004@yahoo.co.in / 9840917608 W