by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Shivakiar Ibrahim was the first wife of Prince Ahmed Fuad, who later became King Fuad I of Egypt. She was considered to be one of the richest women in Egypt.

Princess Shivakiar was born October 25, 1876 in Üsküdar, Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, the only daughter of Prince Ibrahim Fahmi Pasha and his first wife, Nevjiwan Hanim.

On May 31, 1895 she married Prince Ahmed Fuad (later King Fuad I of Egypt) at the Abbasiya Palace in Cairo. The couple were first cousins once removed (her father was his first cousin). They had two children:

• Prince Ismail Fuad (1896) – died in infancy
• Princess Fawkia (1897) – married twice, one son

The couple divorced in 1898, following a dispute between Shivakiar’s brother and her husband, which had involved her brother shooting Fuad in the throat. Fuad survived, but the marriage did not.

Shivakiar went on to marry four more times and have several more children:

• Marriage #2 – Raouf Thabet Bey – married 1900, divorced 1903, no issue
• Marriage #3 – Seyfullah Yousri Pasha – married 1904, divorced 1916, two children
• Marriage #4 – Selim Khalil Bey – married 1917, divorced 1925, one son
• Marriage #5 – Ilhami Hüseyin Pasha – married 1927, no issue

Despite her divorce from Prince Ahmed Fuad, she retained her title of Princess, as well as her position at court, and remained close to the Egyptian royal family. She was very involved in philanthropy, serving as president of the Muhammad Ali Benevolent Society, and the Mar’al-Guedida (‘New Woman’), an organization that provided training and education for young women.

Princess Shivakiar died at the Kasr al-Aali Palace in Cairo on February 17, 1947. Her tomb, in the Hosh al-Basha mausoleum in Cairo, is designed as a large unmade bed, as per her specific wishes.

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by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Ahmed Fuad was Sultan of Egypt from 1917 until 1922, when Egypt gained its independence from the United Kingdom. He became King Fuad I of Egypt on March 15, 1922 and reigned until his death in April 1936. His full title was King of Egypt and Sovereign of Nubia, the Sudan, Kordofan and Darfur.

Ahmed Fuad was born on March 26, 1868 at the Giza Palace in Cairo, Egypt, the fifth of fifteen children of Isma’il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. His mother was Ferial Qadin, one of Isma’il’s 16 wives.

Ahmed Fuad spent his early years in Egypt until his father was deposed in 1879, and replaced by Isma’il’s eldest son, Tewfik Pasha. At that point, Ahmed Fuad accompanied his father into exile, settling near Naples. He later attended the military academy in Turin.

On May 31, 1895 at the Abbasiya Palace in Cairo, Ahmed Fuad married his first wife, Princess Shivakiar Ibrahim. She was his first cousin once removed. Before divorcing in 1898, the couple had two children:

• Prince Ismail Fuad (1896) – died in infancy
• Princess Fawkia (1897) – married twice, one son

Fuad was instrumental in establishing the Egyptian University (now Cairo University), and served as rector from 1908 until 1913. That same year, Fuad tried – unsuccessfully – to be named monarch of Albania, which had recently gained its independence from the Ottoman Empire. He then focused his attention on the Egyptian Geographic Society, serving as president from 1915 until 1918.

By 1914, the Khedivate of Egypt had separated from the Ottoman Empire, and became the Sultanate of Egypt – a protectorate of the United Kingdom – under the rule of Ahmed Fuad’s second older brother, Hussein Kamel. Hussein Kamel died on October 9, 1917, and Ahmed Fuad succeeded him as Sultan of Egypt, taking the name Fuad I.

On May 24, 1919, Fuad married his second wife, Nazli Sabri, at the Bustan Palace in Cairo. The couple had five children:

• King Farouk I (1920) – married (1) Safinaz Zulficar, 3 daughters: (2) Narriman Sadek, 1 son
• Princess Fawzia (1921) – married (1) Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, 1 daughter; (2) Ismail Chirine, 2 children
• Princess Faiza (1923) – married Bulent Rauf, no issue
• Princess Faika (1926) – married Fuad Sadek, 4 children
• Princess Fathia (1930) – married Riyad Ghali, 3 children

After the Egyptian Revolution of 1919, Egypt gained its independence from the United Kingdom, which recognized Egypt as a sovereign state on February 28, 1922. Just two weeks later, Fuad declared himself King of Egypt. He reigned until his death in 1936.

King Fuad I died on April 28, 1936 at the Koubbeh Palace in Cairo. He is buried at the Al Rifa’i Mosque in Cairo.

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This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.