Princess Fathia of Egypt

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Fathia
Princess of Egypt
Princess Fathia.JPG
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 (b. 1952)
  • Rayed Ghali (b. 1954)
  • Rania Ghali (b. 1956)
HouseHouse of Muhammad Ali (by birth)
FatherFuad I
MotherNazli Sabri
ReligionChristianity Roman Catholicism, previously Islam

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

Early life[]

Fathia was born on 17 December 1930 at the Koubbeh Palace, El-Quba, Cairo.[citation needed] She was of Turkish, Albanian, French and Circassian descent. Her father died when she was five years old. She was raised mostly close to her mother 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[]

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 Christian. Nazli and Fathia both converted from Islam to Catholicism in 1950. She married at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, California, United States on 25 April 1950 (civ) and 11 May 1950 (rel).[citation needed] King Farouk was shocked and humiliated by the scandal and sacrilege: in effect, he excommunicated both women, confiscating their extensive lands and banning them from Egypt forever. Faika went back to Egypt in 1951 to get back her title, and she did, and her husband Fuad Sadek got the "Bekdom" or held the title "Fuad Bek Sadek". Fathia and her mother settled in the United States for the rest of her life, having money troubles that eventually led to living in a small flat in California. Later in 1973, she 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, her mother sent a request to President Anwar El-Sadat to retrieve their Egyptian passports, which he granted. However, a few days before returning to Egypt, Fathia was killed by her husband, as explained below.

Death[]

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. In not wanting her to leave, he shot her in the head 6 times with his revolver before attempting to take his own life. It is uncertain whether this is true, but ultimately, Ghali survived and was promptly investigated. Some reports say he only served a year in prison, due to poor health. He died in 1987 (reference photo of his tomb).

Issue[]

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)

Titles[]

  • Her Royal Highness, Princess Fathia Fuad of Egypt (1930–1950).
  • Mrs. Fathia Ghali (1950–1973).
  • Miss Fathia Fuad (1973–1976).

Honours[]

Ancestry[]

See also[]

References[]

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