Some stories stay with you, not because of the glitter of royalty or the grandness of their palaces, but because of the resilience of the people who lived them. It is the personal stories of the women of the Muhammad Ali dynasty that draw me to them more than anything else. This is the story of one such remarkable lady – Neslishah Sultan,
Neslishah Sultan – a name once gracing magazine covers and whispered in royal circles, wasn’t just the last princess of the Ottoman Empire. She was also Egypt’s First Lady for a brief but significant time, connecting two monumental dynasties in an extraordinary life marked by revolutions, exiles, and personal strength.
Born into the Twilight of an Empire
Neslishah’s birth on February 4, 1921, in Istanbul’s stylish Nishantashi district, couldn’t have been more symbolic. She was born in the final years of the Ottoman Empire—a dynasty that ruled for 600 years, controlling vast territories that stretched across continents. Her maternal grandfather was Sultan Vahideddin (Mehmed VI), the last Ottoman emperor, and her paternal grandfather, Caliph Abdülmecid II, was the final Caliph of the Islamic world.
A Royal Beginning in a Time of Transition
Born on February 4, 1921, Neslishah Sultan entered the world during a time of immense political and social upheaval. The Ottoman Empire, once spanning across continents, was crumbling. Despite her illustrious lineage, Neslishah’s life began with the collapse of the empire. In 1924, when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk declared Turkey a republic, the Ottoman royal family was expelled. Neslishah, only three years old, was thrust into exile along with her family. From that moment, her life would become one of adaptation, surviving the political turmoil that echoed through Turkey and beyond.
Neslishah’s father, Şehzade Ömer Faruk, was a prominent member of the royal family.
Neslishah’s mother, Rukiye Sabiha Sultan, was the daughter of Sultan Mehmed VI, making Neslishah a direct descendant of one of the world’s most powerful dynasties.
A Marriage That United Two Empires
In 1940, at the age of 19, Neslishah married Prince Mohamed Abdel Moneim, the son of Khedive Abbas II of Egypt.
His mother was Ikbal Hanim (Hanim means “Lady”)
This union was significant; it symbolically linked two great empires—the Ottomans and the Muhammad Ali dynasty of Egypt.
Neslishah’s arrival in Egypt in 1941 brought her into the political and social limelight once again. The marriage made front-page news, with Neslishah hailed as one of the most beautiful women in the world. Along with her two younger sisters, she formed a trio of glamour that dominated charity events, fundraising balls, and the media spotlight.
But Neslishah’s role was more than just that of a princess attending high-society functions. She was deeply involved in humanitarian work, contributing to organizations like the Red Crescent and the Children’s Welfare Association. Raised with martial discipline in French schools, she took on these responsibilities with dedication and grace, never shying away from the demands of public life.
Egypt’s Last Days of Monarchy
When King Farouk was forced to abdicate in 1952, Neslishah’s husband was appointed head of the Regency Council for the young King Fuad II. For nine months, Neslishah and Abdel Moneim stood as the last symbols of Egypt’s monarchy. But the revolution that had swept Farouk away would soon topple them too. In 1953, the monarchy was abolished, and Egypt declared itself a republic. Once again, Neslishah found herself displaced.
A Trial of Character
The real test of Neslishah’s strength came not during her time as Egypt’s First Lady but afterward, when her family was caught up in the political purges of Nasser’s regime. Her cousin, Shehzade Mahmud Namuk, was accused of plotting a royalist coup against Nasser’s government. As the military regime cracked down on all things roya.
Throughout Prince Namuk’s trial and his eventual imprisonment, Neslishah remained unwavering. She visited Namuk in Cairo’s Torah Prison regularly, despite knowing the dangers posed by Nasser’s secret police. Even under the threat of house arrest and possible detention, she fought tirelessly to defend her cousin. When he died under suspicious circumstances in 1961, Neslishah stood alone at his burial, the last royal of two empires facing the bitter reality of revolution.
Final Years and Legacy
After Prince Namuk’s death, Neslishah left Egypt for good, moving to Istanbul in the late 1960s. Though far from her once-great roles, Egypt was never far from her heart. Her life became quieter, filled with the love of her children, Prince Abbas Hilmi and Princess Ikbal, and her two grandchildren, Daoud and Sabiha.
In 2012, at the age of 91, Neslishah Sultan passed away in her villa in Ortakoy, Istanbul. In her final years, Turkey had begun to reconcile with its Ottoman past, and her passing was marked with tributes from the nation’s leaders, a far cry from the silence that once followed her family’s exile. She was laid to rest alongside her mother and sisters, overlooking the Bosphorus—forever part of the two worlds that had defined her extraordinary life.
Legacy – and Enduring Grace
Neslishah Sultan was not just a symbol of Ottoman or Egyptian royalty; she was a woman who lived at the crossroads of history, embodying both the splendor and the suffering that comes with it. Her life, marked by beauty and tragedy, glamour and exile, is a reminder that royal titles are fleeting, but character endures.
Neslishah’s finest hour may have been the strength she showed when the titles disappeared, and it was just her, her family, and her unwavering sense of duty. In a century of revolutions, she proved that some things remain unchanged—grace, loyalty, and the quiet strength of a woman who knew what it meant to lose everything and still carry on.