by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2025
Nazli Sabri was the second wife of King Fuad I of Egypt, and the first Queen Consort of the Kingdom of Egypt. She was later stripped of her royal titles, and after converting to Catholicism, became Mary-Elizabeth Sabri.
source: Wikipedia
Nazli Sabri was born on June 25, 1894 in Alexandria, Egypt, one of five children of Abdel Rahim Sabri Pasha and Tawfika Sharif Hanim. She was educated at the Lycée de la Esclave-de-Dieu in Cairo and the Collège Notre-Dame de Sion in Alexandria before attending a boarding school in Paris. After returning to Egypt, she was forced to marry her first cousin, Khalil Sabri, but the marriage ended in divorce less than a year later.
Fuad I, c. 1910. source: Wikipedia
Nazli first met Sultan Fuad I (later King Fuad I) at the opera and he soon proposed. They married on May 24, 1919 at the Bustan Palace in Cairo. The couple had five children:
King Farouk (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
Her activities as Queen were heavily restricted, only permitted to attend events such as the opera, and women-only events. This was very frustrating to Nazli, as she had lived a very different lifestyle prior to her marriage. However, she was one of the most popular members of the Egyptian royal family, both within Egypt as well as throughout Europe.
Queen Nazli with her son, King Farouk, and her four daughters c:1938. source: Wikipedia
In 1936, King Fuad died and was succeeded by the young Farouk, overseen by a Regency Council which included Nazli’s brother, Sherif. Ten years later, suffering from some health issues, Queen Nazli traveled to the United States to undergo medical treatment. Following surgery, she decided to settle in California, along with her youngest daughters, Faika and Fathia.
Queen Nazli (center) at the wedding of her daughter, Fawzia, to the Crown Prince of Iran, 1939. source: Wikipedia
In 1950, Princess Fathia married Riyad Ghali, an advisor to the Royal Family, and a Coptic Christian. Despite his conversion to Islam, the new King did not approve or give his consent to the marriage. Because Nazli supported her daughter, King Farouk stripped Nazli and Fathia of their royal titles and styles, as well as confiscating their properties in Egypt and banning them from ever returning. Queen Nazli later converted to Catholicism, and changed her name to Mary-Elizabeth Sabri.
For many years, she lived in a large mansion in Beverly Hills, California, with Fathia and her family. However, Fathia’s husband squandered much of their fortune, and the couple divorced. Relatively impoverished – at least by Royal standards – she was forced to auction off many of her jewels in order to survive.
Mary-Elizabeth Sabri – the former Queen Nazli of Egypt – died in Los Angeles on May 29, 1978. She is buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
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