Farouk of Egypt
| Farouk | |
|---|---|
| King of Egypt and of Sudan | |
 | |
| Reign | April 28, 1936 – July 26, 1952 |
| Predecessor | Fuad I |
| Successor | Fuad II |
| Burial | |
| Consort | Safinaz Zulficar, Nariman Sadek |
| Issue | Princess Farial, Princess Fawzia Farouk, Princess Fadia, Fuad II |
| Dynasty | Muhammad Ali Dynasty |
| Father | Fuad I |
| Mother | Nazli Sabri |
Farouk I of Egypt (Arabic: فاروق الأول Fārūq al-Awwal) (February 11, 1920 – March 18, 1965), was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936. His sister Fawzia was Queen of Iran for a brief period. His full title was "H.M. Farouk I, by the grace of God, King of Egypt and of Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, of Kordofan and of Darfur." He was overthrown in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and was forced to abdicate in favor of his infant son Ahmed Fuad. He died in exile in Italy.
Reign
The great-great-grandson of Muhammad Ali Pasha, Farouk was of Albanian descent. Before his father's death, he was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, England. Upon his coronation, the 16-year-old King Farouk made a public radio address to the nation, the first time a sovereign of Egypt had ever spoken directly to his people in such a way:
And if it is God's will to lay on my shoulders at such an early age the responsibility of kingship, I on my part appreciate the duties that will be mine, and I am prepared for all sacrifices in the cause of my duty... My noble people, I am proud of you and your loyalty and am confident in the future as I am in God. Let us work together. We shall succeed and be happy. Long live the Fatherland!
Although he owned thousands of acres of land, dozens of palaces and hundreds of cars, the young king would often travel to Europe for grand shopping sprees. During the hardships of World War II, criticism was levelled at Farouk for his lavish lifestyle. His decision to keep all the lights burning at his palace in Alexandria, during a time when the city was blacked-out because of Italian bombing, was deemed particularly offensive by some.
The continuing British occupation of Egypt made many Egyptians, Farouk included, positively disposed towards Germany and Italy. Despite the presence of British troops, Egypt remained officially neutral until the final year of the war. Consequently, the royal Italian servants of Farouk were not interned, and Farouk is said to have told British Ambassador Sir Miles Lampson (who had an Italian wife), "I'll get rid of my Italians, when you get rid of yours" [citation needed]. Farouk only declared war on the Axis Powers under heavy British pressure in 1945, long after the fighting in Egypt's Western Desert had ceased.
On July 23, 1952, the Free Officers Movement under Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser staged a military coup that launched the Revolution of 1952. Farouk was forced to abdicate, and went into exile in Italy and Monaco where he lived the rest of his life. Immediately following his abdication, Farouk's baby son, Ahmed Fuad was proclaimed King Fuad II, but for all intents and purposes Egypt was now governed by the Naguib, Nasser and Free Officers. On June 18 1953, The revolutionary government formally abolished the monarchy, ending 150 years of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's rule, and Egypt was declared a republic.
The new regime quickly moved to auction off the king's vast collection of trinkets and treasures. Among the more famous of his possessions was one of the rare 1933 Double Eagle coins, though the coin disappeared before it could be returned to the United States.
Farouk was believed to have told one of his friends before the exile: " The Egyptian Revolution of 1952 will talk bad things about me and about the Royal Family, and lots of people will believe their lie. If you can, write about my life and say all what you know about me and prove them wrong. Say the truth so that new generations know that I wasn't a bad person. Save my good reputation from being destroyed by those soldiers ". And Farouk was so right, the revolution talked rubbish about his whole family. He is believed today to be one of those great and loyal leaders to their country who were victims to the leaders who came after.
The blue-eyed Farouk was thin early in his reign, but later gained an enormous amount of weight. His taste for fine cuisine made him dangerously obese, weighing nearly 300 pounds (136 kg). He died in Rome, Italy on March 18, 1965. He collapsed and died at the dinner table following a characteristically heavy meal. He was buried in the Mosque of Al Rifai' in Cairo.
Affairs and marriages
In addition to an affair with the British writer and siren Barbara Skelton, among numerous others, the king was married twice, with a claim of a third marriage (see below). His first wife was Safinaz Zulficar (1921–1988), a pasha's daughter who was renamed Farida upon her marriage; they married in 1938, divorced in 1948, and had three daughters.
His second was a commoner, Narriman Sadeq (1934–2005); they married in 1951 and divorced in 1954; they had one son, the future King Fuad II.
Whilst in exile in Italy he met Irma Capece Minutolo, an opera singer, who became his companion. In 2005, she claimed that she married the king in 1957.[1]
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (October=2007) |
The actor David Suchet modeled his mustache for detective Hercule Poirot on King Farouk's.
The 1950s game show Treasure Hunt, hosted by Jan Murray, had as a gag prize "a beach ball once used by King Farouk."
In 2007, Arabic satellite channel MBC produced an Egyptian television series titled 'El Malek Farouk' starring a wide array of popular and talented Egyptian actors, along with Taym Hassan (Syrian) playing the lead role. The series currently airs daily on MBC during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
Marriages
(Safinaz Zulficar) (1921-1988)
Children
(1934-2005)
Children
- Fuad II (1952-)
Quotes about King Farouk
- But this Farouk, the one I came to know, was not the overweight, dissipated monarch who became the subject of so many Western satirists and cartoonists. He was still a handsome man, lean and tall, patriotic and idealistic, with clear blue eyes that sparkled when he spoke. -Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, pg. 57 in Faces in Mirror, 1980.
- In Celebrity Trivia by Edward Lucaire (1981), Red Skelton is quoted, according to reporter James Bacon, as having said to the Queen Mother of Egypt, "Queenie, do you know your son is 'farouking' Egypt?"
- Farouk was mentioned in a verse of Noel Coward's new 1950s lyrics for Cole Porter's 1928 song "Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love": "Monkeys whenever you look do it / Aly Khan and King Farouk do it/Let's do it, let's fall in love."
- In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the narrator writes, "It made me feel like King Farouk."
- In the "Pal o' Mine" episode of The Honeymooners (1955), after Ralph Kramden puts on a ring that is too small and cannot get it off his finger, Ed Norton says to Alice Kramden, "He put that little ring on his finger? That's like King Farouk trying get into Gary Cooper's bathing suit."
See also
Endnotes
References
- Ashraf Pahlavi "Faces in a Mirror", Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1980
- McLeave, Hugh The Last Pharaoh : Farouk of Egypt, New York : McCall Pub. Co., 1970, 1969 ISBN 0841500207.
- New King, Old Trouble, Time Magazine, Monday, May 11, 1936.
- Sadat, Jehan "A Woman of Egypt", New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987 ISBN 0671540713
- Stadiem, William Too Rich: The High Life and Tragic Death of King Farouk, New York: Carroll & Graf Pub, 1991 ISBN 0881846295