Princess Farial of Egypt
| Ferial Farouk | |
|---|---|
| Princess of Egypt | |
Ferial in the early 1940s, photographed by Riad Shehata
|
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| Born |
17 November 1938 Montaza Palace, Alexandria, Egypt |
| Died | 29 November 2009 (aged 71) Montreux, Switzerland |
| Burial | Khedival Mausoleum, Al-Rifa'i Mosque |
| Spouse | Jean-Pierre Perreten |
| Issue | Yasmine Perreten-Shaarawy |
| House | Muhammad Ali Dynasty |
| Father | Farouk of Egypt |
| Mother | Safinaz Zulficar |
Princess Ferial Farouk (also Farial, Feryal; Arabic: الأميرة فريال Ferial means full of victory and glorious); 17 November 1938 – 29 November 2009) was the eldest child of Egypt's penultimate monarch, King Farouk.
Princess Ferial was born on 17 November 1938. At the time of her birth, King Farouk was eighteen years of age and his wife, Farida of Egypt, was seventeen. Her birth was marked by nationwide celebrations which included the distribution of clothes and free breakfasts to thousands of poor. In addition, each of the 1,700 families of infants born on the same day were given one Egyptian pound, which was a large sum at that time. Princess Ferial was later joined by two more sisters, Princesses Fawzia and Fadia. In search of an heir, King Farouk divorced Queen Farida in 1949 and married Narriman Sadek. That marriage produced Fuad II, Ferial's half-brother and last King of Egypt.
In 1952, the Revolution by the Free Officers sent the Royal Family into exile in Italy. She left Egypt at the age of 13 on the royal yacht Mahroussa. The family's time in exile was spent in Naples, Capri and Rome. Ferial's correspondence with her mother Farida shows that she was very sad to leave Egypt and especially the people she knew and loved there.
Ferial was unable to return to Egypt while Nasser remained in power. Not until 1973, three years into Sadat's regime was she allowed access to the country and permitted an Egyptian passport. She would later spend her summers in Egypt with her daughter Yasmine visiting relatives.
At the will of their father Farouk, Princess Ferial and her sisters were educated privately, and then at Grand Verger Finishing School a boarding school in Lutry, Switzerland. Their mother stayed in Egypt for 10 years after their exile eventually moving to Lebanon and then reuniting with them in Switzerland.
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