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Princess Fathia of Egypt

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Princess Fathia
Born(1930-12-17)17 December 1930
Koubbeh Palace, Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt
Died10 December 1976(1976-12-10) (aged 45)
Los Angeles, California, United States
Burial
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, United States
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1950; div. 1973)​
Issue
  • Rafiq Ghali
  • Rayed Ghali
  • Rania Ghali
HouseMuhammad Ali
FatherFuad I
MotherNazli Sabri

Princess Fathia (Arabic: الأميرة فتحية; 17 December 1930 – 10 December 1976) was the youngest daughter of Fuad I of Egypt and Nazli Sabri, and the youngest sister of Farouk I.

Early life

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Fathia was born on 17 December 1930 at the Koubbeh Palace, El-Quba, Cairo.[citation needed] Her father, Fuad I died when she was five years old. She was raised mostly close to her mother, Nazli, and her sister Faika. In 1948, she travelled with her sister Faika and her mother to the United States for her mother needed to undergo a kidney surgery.

Later life

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After her mother's successful surgery, Fathia settled in the United States. In 1949, her sister Faika married Fuad Sadek. In 1950, she herself married Riyad Ghali, their Royal Advisor, who was 11 years her senior, and was a Coptic Christian.[1] Ghali converted to Islam to try and gain favor with King Farouk during the wedding.[2] She married at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California, United States on 25 April 1950 in a civil ceremony and 24 May 1950 in a Muslim ceremony by an Imam.[3][4][5] Fathia converted to Catholicism.[6]

King Farouk was shocked and humiliated by the scandal and sacrilege[clarification needed]: in effect, he excommunicated both women, confiscating their extensive lands and banning them from Egypt forever.[7][8]

Faika went back to Egypt in 1951 to get back her title, and she did, and her husband Fuad Sadek received the "Bekdom"[clarification needed] or held the title "Fuad Bek Sadek". Fathia and Riad Ghali had three children, two sons and a daughter:

  • Rafik (born 29 November 1952)
  • Rayed (born 20 May 1954)
  • Ranya (born 21 April 1956)

Fathia and her mother settled in the United States for the rest of their lives, having money troubles that eventually led to living in a small flat in California. Later in 1973, Fathia divorced Riyad Ghali because of bad investments that made them lose almost everything they owned. Later, her mother's jewelry was sold for $1,500,000. Fathia also worked as a cleaning lady to pay her debt.

Some time later[when?], her mother sent a request to President Anwar El-Sadat to retrieve their Egyptian passports, which he granted.[citation needed] However, a few days before returning to Egypt, Fathia was killed.

Death

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An unconfirmed story by an Egyptian journalist states that on 10 December 1976, the day she was returning to Egypt, she went to her ex-husband's house with the excuse of "taking Ghali's mother's (Galila) clothes, where she found Ghali drunk. Not wanting her to leave, he shot her in the head 6 times with his revolver before attempting to take his own life. Ghali survived and was promptly investigated. Some reports say he only served a year in prison, due to poor health. He died in 1987.

Ancestry

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References

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  1. ^ "EGYPTIAN PRINCESS WEDS COMMONER | AP Archive". www.aparchive.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  2. ^ Pathé, British. "Egyptian Wedding In San Francisco". britishpathe.com. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 June 1950. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  4. ^ "TopFoto". TopFoto. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  5. ^ ""NO DIVORCE," SAYS PRINCESS FATHIA". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 May 1950. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  6. ^ Ph.D, Mona L. Russell (11 January 2013). Egypt. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-59884-234-0.
  7. ^ "Egypt Princess To Remarry". Mercury. 25 May 1950. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Moslem Re-marriage For Fathia And Ghali". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 May 1950. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  9. ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh, ed. (1980). "The French Ancestry of King Farouk of Egypt". Burke's Royal Families of the World. Vol. II: Africa & the Middle East. London: Burke's Peerage. p. 287. ISBN 978-0-85011-029-6. OCLC 18496936.
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