Princess Farial of Egypt

Princess Farial was the eldest child of Egypt’s penultimate monarch, King Farouk. She was born on 17 November 1938 in Montaza Palace, Alexandria, Egypt. Her birth was celebrated by the nation with gifts and festivities. She had two younger sisters, Fawzia and Fadia, and a half-brother, Fuad II, who was the last King of Egypt. In 1952, the revolution by the Free Officers forced the royal family into exile in Italy. Farial left Egypt at the age of 13 on the royal yacht Mahroussa. She and her sisters were educated privately and then at a boarding school in Switzerland. Their father was very strict and did not allow them much freedom. Farial later moved to Montreux, where she taught typing and French literature. In 1966, she married Jean-Pierre Perreten, a Swiss hotelier who converted to Islam and took the name Samir Cheriff. They had one daughter, Yasmine, who became a journalist and married an Egyptian diplomat. Farial was not allowed to return to Egypt until 1973, when President Sadat granted her an Egyptian passport. She spent her summers in Egypt with her daughter and relatives. She was also involved in charitable and cultural activities, such as supporting the restoration of the Muhammad Ali Mosque and the Cairo Opera House. She died on 29 November 2009 in Montreux, Switzerland, after a long battle with leukemia. She was buried in the Khedival Mausoleum in Cairo, next to her father and sister Fadia. She was the first member of the former royal family to be buried in Egypt since 1952. She was remembered as a kind and gentle person who loved her country and its people.