Farouk of Egypt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate (September 2008) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references !nsourced material may be challenged and removed
(September 2008)

Farouk I
King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, of Kordofan and of Darfur

Reign itles !orn !irt"place Died #lace of deat" !uried #redecessor Successor $onsort %ffspring Dynasty Fat"er &ot"er Religious beliefs

"pril #$, %&'( ) July #(, %&*# +ing of ,gypt and -udan, -overeign of .ubia, of +ordofan and of /arfur February %%, %&#0 1airo 2arch %$, %&(* 3ome 1airo Fuad 4 Fuad 44 -afina5 6ulficar, .ariman -adek Princess Farial, Princess Faw5ia Farouk, Princess Fadia, Fuad 44 2uhammad "li /ynasty Fuad 4 .a5li -abri 4slam7%8

Farouk I of Egypt 9"rabic: Frq al-Awwal: 9February %%, %&#0 ) 2arch

%$, %&(*:, was the tenth ruler from the 2uhammad "li /ynasty and t"e penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, succeeding "is fat"er, Fuad I, in '()* ;e was considered the first native ,gyptian monarch for millenia despite his mixed roots +is sister Fa,-ia ,as .ueen of Iran for eig"t years ;is full title was <;is 2a=esty Farouk 4, by the grace of >od, +ing of ,gypt and -udan, -overeign of .ubia, of +ordofan, and of /arfur < +e ,as overt"ro,n in t"e Egyptian Revolution of '(/0, and was forced to abdicate in favor of his infant son "hmed Fuad, who succeeded him as +ing Fuad 44 ;e died in exile in 4taly

$ontents
7hide8

% 3eign # "ffairs and marriages ' Portrayals ? 2arriages

o

? % Farida

?%% 1hildren ?#% 1hildren

? # .arriman -adek

* @uotes about +ing Farouk ( -ee also A ,ndnotes $ 3eferences

1edit2 Reign
"e great3great3grandson of &u"ammad 4li #as"a, Farouk was of "lbanian descent as well as native ,gyptian descent through his mother the @ueen Before his fatherCs death, he was educated at the 3oyal 2ilitary "cademy, Woolwich, ,ngland !pon his coronation, the hugely popular %(DyearDold +ing Farouk made a public radio address to the nation, the first time a sovereign of ,gypt had ever spoken directly to his people in such a way:

"nd if it is >odCs will to lay on my shoulders at such an early age the responsibility of kingship, 4 on my part appreciate the duties that will be mine, and 4 am prepared for all sacrifices in the cause of my duty 2y noble people, 4 am proud of you and your loyalty and am confident in the future as 4 am in >od Eet us work together We shall succeed and be happy Eong live the FatherlandF

Farouk was enamored of the glamorous royal lifestyle "lthough he already had thousands of acres of land, do5ens of palaces, and hundreds of cars, the youthful king would often travel to ,urope for grand shopping sprees, earning the ire of many of his sub=ects ;e was most popular in his early years and the .obility largely celebrated him For example, during the accession of the young +ing Farouk, <the "ba5a family had solicited palace authorities to permit the royal train to stop briefly in their village so that the king could partake in refreshments offered in a large, magnificently ornamented tent they had erected in the train station < 7http:GGweekly ahram org egG#00*GA(#Gchrncls htm "lD"hram Weekly The above mentioned "ba5a Family was at the time and remains the largest noble entity in ,gypt FaroukCs accession initially was encouraging for the populace and nobility, due to his young age and ,gyptian roots through his mother .a5li -abri ;owever, the situation was not the same with some politicians and elected governments, with whom Farouk Huarreled a lot despite their loyalty in principle to his throne /uring the hardships of World War 44, criticism was leveled at Farouk for his lavish lifestyle ;is decision to keep all the lights burning at his palace in "lexandria, during a time when the city was blackedDout because of >erman and 4talian bombing, was deemed particularly offensive by some /ue to the continuing British occupation of ,gypt, many ,gyptians, Farouk included, were positively disposed towards >ermany and 4taly, and despite the presence of British troops, ,gypt remained officially neutral until the final year of the war 1onseHuently, the royal 4talian servants of Farouk were not interned, and there is an unconfirmed story that Farouk told British "mbassador -ir 2iles Eampson 9who had an 4talian wife:, <4Cll get rid of my 4talians, when you get rid of yours< Farouk only declared war on the "xis Powers under heavy British pressure in %&?*, long after the fighting in ,gyptCs Western /esert had ceased

Ifficial marriage photograph of +ing Farouk, taken in %&'$ "s he got older, the king began pilfering ob=ects and artifacts while on state visits abroad, including a ceremonial sword from the -hah of 4ran and a pocket watch from Winston 1hurchill ;e got a nickname from his own citi5ens as <The Thief of 1airo< to signify his wellDknown aptitude for thievery, as well as his lavish lifestyle and corrupt regime 7citation
needed8

Widely condemned for his corrupt and ineffectual governance, the continued British occupation, and the ,gyptian armyCs failure to prevent the loss of A$J of Palestine to the newly formed -tate of 4srael in the %&?$ "rabD4sraeli War, public discontent against Farouk rose to new levels Finally, on July #', %&*#, the Free Ifficers 2ovement under 2uhammad .aguib and >amal "bdel .asser staged a military coup that launched the ,gyptian 3evolution of %&*# Farouk was forced to abdicate, and went into exile in 4taly and 2onaco where he lived the rest of his life "lthough it was clear he could have used forces at his disposal to remain in his position, his supporters usually cite this as a commitment on his part to avoid the spilling of blood with the army 4mmediately following his abdication, FaroukCs baby son, "hmed Fuad, was proclaimed +ing Fuad 44,

but for all intents and purposes ,gypt was now governed by the .aguib, .asser and Free Ifficers In June %$, %&*', the revolutionary government formally abolished the monarchy, ending %*0 years of the 2uhammad "li dynastyCs rule, and ,gypt was declared a republic The revolutionary government Huickly moved to auction off the kingCs vast collection of trinkets and treasures "mong the more famous of his possessions was one of the rare %&'' /ouble ,agle coins, though the coin disappeared before it could be returned to the !nited -tates The blueDeyed Farouk was thin early in his reign, but later gained enormous weight ;is taste for fine cuisine made him dangerously obese, weighing nearly '00 pounds 9%'( kg: ) an acHuaintance described him as <a stomach with a head< ;e died in 4le de France restaurant in 3ome, 4taly on 2arch ', %&(* ;e collapsed and died at the dinner table following a characteristically heavy meal While some say he was poisoned, no official autopsy was made for his body ;is will stated that his burial place be ,gypt, in the "l 3ifaCi 2osHue in 1airo, but the reHuest was denied by the newly formed ,gyptian government and he was set to be buried in 4taly +ing Faisal of -audi "rabia stated that they would be willing to bury +ing Farouk in -audi "rabia, upon which President .asser declared it was ok for the kingCs body to be buried in ,gypt, but not in the 2osHue of "l 3ifaiC but rather the 4brahim Pasha Burial -ite

1edit2 4ffairs and marriages

4n addition to an affair with the ,nglish writer and siren Barbara -kelton, among numerous others, the king was married twice, with a claim of a third marriage 9see below: ;is first wife was -afina5 6ulficar 9%&#%)%&$$:, a pashaCs daughter who was renamed Farida upon her marriageK they married in %&'$, divorced in %&?$, and had three daughters ;is second wife was a commoner, .arriman -adek 9%&'?)#00*:K they married in %&*% and divorced in %&*?K they had one son, the future +ing Fuad 44 Whilst in exile in 4taly he met 4rma 1apece 2inutolo, an opera singer, who became his companion 4n #00*, she claimed that she had married the king in %&*A 7%8

1edit2 #ortrayals
4n #00A, "rabic satellite channel 2B1 produced a television series on the life of Farouk entitled C,l 2alek FaroukC, with -yrian actor Taym ;assan playing the lead role

1edit2 &arriages
+ing Farouk 4, @ueen Farida and their firstDborn daughter Farial ca %&?0

1edit2 Farida
9-afina5 6ulficar: 9%&#%D%&$$: 1edit2 $"ildren

Farial 9%&'$D:

Faw5ia 9%&?0D #00*: Fadia 9%&?'D#00#:

1edit2 Narriman Sadek

9%&'?D#00*: 1edit2 $"ildren

Fuad 44 9%&*#D:

1edit2 .uotes about King Farouk

7ists of miscellaneous information s"ould be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles (September 2008)

<But this Farouk, the one 4 came to know, was not the overweight, dissipated monarch who became the sub=ect of so many Western satirists and cartoonists ;e was still a handsome man, lean and tall, patriotic and idealistic, with clear blue eyes that sparkled when he spoke < LPrincess "shraf Pahlavi, Faces in a Mirror: Memoirs from !ile, %&$0 9p *A: 4n "elebrit# $ri%ia by ,dward Eucaire 9%&$%:, 3ed -kelton is Huoted, according to reporter James Bacon, as having said to the @ueen 2other of ,gypt, <@ueenie, do you know your son is CfaroukingC ,gyptM< Farouk was mentioned in a verse of .oel 1owardCs new %&*0s lyrics for 1ole PorterCs %&#$ song <EetCs /o 4t, EetCs Fall in Eove<: <2onkeys whenever you look do it G "ly +han and +ing Farouk do it G EetCs do it, letCs fall in love < 4n the <Pal oC 2ine< episode of $&e 'one#mooners 9%&**:, after 3alph +ramden puts on a ring that is too small and cannot get it off his finger, ,d .orton says to "lice +ramden, <;e put that little ring on his fingerM ThatCs like +ing Farouk trying get into >ary 1ooperCs bathing suit <

1edit2 See also

2uhammad "li /ynasty Eist of monarchs of the 2uhammad "li /ynasty ,gyptian 3evolution of %&*#