King Fuad I of Egypt

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.

source: Wikipedia

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.

Prince Ahmed Fuad and his first wife, Shivakiar Ibrahim. source: Wikipedia
By Retrieverlove – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35582655

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.

Nazli Sabri c. 1925. source: Wikipedia

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

Tomb of King Fuad I. source: Wikipedia By Ahmad Badr, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10279848

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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