Royalty of Iraq

[maria-olivia]

I saw yesterday on french TV Agatha Christies's life. She went in Bagdad with her second husband for archeological works but had to leave when King Faisal II was killed.
I went to King Faisal II 's Murder and saw a so terrible pictures of the Body of his Uncle Abd Al Ilah, that I could not sleep.
How could people do that to a human person ?

 

[An Ard Ri]

Wasn't the king and most of his family gunned down in the palace courtyard?

 

[Troy Thompson]

Wasn't the king and most of his family gunned down in the palace courtyard?

Yes. When the 14 July Revolution broke out, Faisal II ordered the Royal Guard to stand down, but that did not save his life. The executions the followed snuffed out the male lines of both Faisal I and Ali of Hejaz. Prince Zeid bin Hussein (the youngest brother of Ali of Hejaz, Abdullah I of Jordan and Faisal I of Iraq) and his family managed to survive because Zeid was, at the time, in London serving as the Iraqi ambassador to the Court of St. James's. Since the progeny of Abdullah I of Jordan were ineligible to the Iraqi throne, Zeid, the senior eligible dynast, was then recognized as the head of the Iraqi Royal Family, and became pretender to the Iraqi throne.

It should be noted, however, since this thread treats him as a true pretender a lot, that Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein is, objectively, a false pretender who has no defensible claim of pretense whatsoever to the Iraqi throne. The Constitution of the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq set the rules of succession as such: Agnatic primogeniture among Iraqi nationals who belonged to the male line of Faisal I, or, in the event of the extinction of the male line of Faisal I, the male line of Hussein of Hejaz. No one who was not in the male line of Hussein of Hejaz was under any circumstances permitted to succeed to the Iraqi throne. Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein is a female-line descendant of Hussein of Hejaz, but not a male-line descendant, and thus cannot claim any legitimate pretense to the throne under the succession rules that existed under the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq.

Currently, the only line that has a remotely legitimate claim of pretense to the Iraqi throne under the rules of succession that existed under the Constitution of the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq is the male-line of Hussein of Hejaz's youngest son, Prince Zeid bin Hussein, presently represented by Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid.

 

[maria-olivia]

Thank you Troy and An Ard Ri.
Yes the Royals were gunned in the Palace Courtyard.
But why was Abd Al Ilah 's dead body taken away from the Palace for being distroyed by people of Iraq. (see pictures) Was he so unpopular ?

 

[Troy Thompson]

Thank you Troy and An Ard Ri.
Yes the Royals were gunned in the Palace Courtyard.
But why was Abd Al Ilah 's dead body taken away from the Palace for being distroyed by people of Iraq. (see pictures) Was he so unpopular ?

Faisal II was a minor for most of his reign, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah having served as regent for the entirety of the King's minority, except for a brief period in 1941. On April 1, 1941, former Prime Minister Rashid Ali al-Gaylani launched a pro-German coup that overthrew the regency under Prince 'Abd al-Ilah. This served as the catalyst of the Anglo-Iraqi War, the United Kingdom invading Iraq on May 2. By June 2, Rashid Ali's government collapsed and the British put Prince 'Abd al-Ilah back into power.

For the remainder of the regency, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah maintained a moderately nationalistic but overall pro-Anglo-American stance. After Faisal II came of age in 1953, and the regency ended, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah continued to be a close advisor to the King, and particularly advocated a pro-Western foreign policy.

The part about that which doomed Prince 'Abd al-Ilah to so much ire is that the 14 July Revolution was, at least in part, motivated by anti-Western sentiments. The revolutionaries (not unreasonably, given how much money British capitalists were making off from Iraqi oil) saw the Anglo-Iraqi relationship under the Kingdom to be an exploitative relationship in which a colonialist British Empire was stripping Iraq of its resources for their own profit. Accordingly, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah's pro-Western stance led the revolutionaries to see him as a traitor to Iraq and to the Arab Nation.

A cruel turn of events really. After World War I, the Hashemite dynasty had been renowned and adored throughout the Arab world for having shaken off the Turkish yoke in Hejaz, Transjordan and Syria, and having fought a principled, if hopeless, fight against the Western colonial powers in Syria, but in Iraq, less than half a century later, they (or, rather, the non-Jordanian branches) were nearly completely wiped out for not being good enough Arab nationalists.

 

[maria-olivia]

Thank you Troy Thompson, this is a very interesting thread. I remember the King's Murder and speaking to my Father : "He said don't think King Hussein will die in his bed". He was so wrong , the Jordan Monarchy is still there.

 

[An Ard Ri]

What ever became of king Faisal II's wife the French born Genevieve?

 

[theroyalfly]

What ever became of king Faisal II's wife the French born Genevieve?

She fled to the United States and remarried and had two sons and got divorced. She died in 2010.

Her life was a tragedy and I can't find the right words to tell her story. Such a poignant life.

 

[An Ard Ri]

So she survived the palace massacre I assume she witnessed it all ,good Lord what she must have seen!

 

[Rossina]

According to Princess Badiya`s book & to many Iraqi sources, King Feisal II never married. He was engaged & supposed to marry princess Fazila Ibrahim, the daughter of Princess Hanzadeh Osmanoglu & Prince Mohamed Ali Ibrahim of Egypt.
Following the murder of the King, Mrs. Genevieve Arnault claimed that she was married to him. She sought with the help of her mother, through the courts, to inherit a palace he owned in Britan.

 

[Troy Thompson]

I'm not sure if Faisal II married Genevieve, or if they were merely engaged—sources seem to disagree. What I do know is that Abd al-Karim Qasim's object in killing royal family members was to prevent any continuance or restoration of the monarchy; for that object he only really needed to have the male members of the royal family killed, since women could not succeed to the Iraqi throne (and no male could make a claim to the Iraqi throne in the female line). Consequently, Genevieve was safe as long as she wasn't pregnant (which she wasn't).

Had they not been in London at the time, Prince Zeid bin Hussein and his son Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid would have almost certainly been killed as well, but being in London placed them out of Qasim's reach.

On a side note, apparently Saddam Hussein was fascinated by Faisal II. The dictator even took the extraordinary (considering the Ba'ath movement has always been strongly opposed to the Arab monarchies) step of restoring the royal mausoleum and having Faisal II reintered there, next to King Ghazi.

 

[theroyalfly]

So she survived the palace massacre I assume she witnessed it all ,good Lord what she must have seen!

Yes she survived the palace massacre and she even filed a claim in court, proving that she indeed is a wife of King Faisal II. The court ruled in her favor and she was able to get two-thirds of his inheritance.

It was a long legal battle.

 

[Benjamin]

Yes she survived the palace massacre and she even filed a claim in court, proving that she indeed is a wife of King Faisal II. The court ruled in her favor and she was able to get two-thirds of his inheritance.

It was a long legal battle.

Genevieve and her mother Leonie "Lony" Arnault had returned to the United States at least four months prior to the 14 July 1958 massacre of King Faisal and three of his family members.

I was not aware of Genevieve's tie to the last Iraqi king until the recent posts in this thread. Having searched newspaper archives and court documents, it appears that she had a most extraordinary life. Not a very easy one, either.

According to Princess Badiya`s book & to many Iraqi sources, King Feisal II never married. He was engaged & supposed to marry princess Fazila Ibrahim, the daughter of Princess Hanzadeh Osmanoglu & Prince Mohamed Ali Ibrahim of Egypt.
Following the murder of the King, Mrs. Genevieve Arnault claimed that she was married to him. She sought with the help of her mother, through the courts, to inherit a palace he owned in Britan.

Actually, the only assets of King Faisal II that were "up in the air" was a not insignificant sum of money in a U.S. bank. Based on evidence presented, an American court ruled that Genevieve had been the wife (and widow) of the last Iraqi monarch. It was on that basis that the court decided that Genevieve should receive 2/3 of the sum, and that Faisal's great-uncle, IIRC, should receive the other 1/3.

The U.S. legal system later threw out the Republic of Iraq's lawsuit wherein the republic tried to claim that these assets of the late king belonged to it, and not to Faisal's widow and his other surviving family.

 

[theroyalfly]

Genevieve and her mother Leonie "Lony" Arnault had returned to the United States at least four months prior to the 14 July 1958 massacre of King Faisal and three of his family members.

I was not aware of Genevieve's tie to the last Iraqi king until the recent posts in this thread. Having searched newspaper archives and court documents, it appears that she had a most extraordinary life. Not a very easy one, either.

Exactly. Some sources argue that she and King Faisal II got married. But given that the court ruled in favor of her and she was able to get 2/3 of his fortune, it's rather true.

I've read some sources saying she was also accused of sexually abusing her youngest son from her second husband (who subsequently she divorced) but I'm still researching more about this.

Her life is a tragedy, nonetheless. She died in 2010 according to some sources.

Actually, the only assets of King Faisal II that were "up in the air" was a not insignificant sum of money in a U.S. bank. Based on evidence presented, an American court ruled that Genevieve had been the wife (and widow) of the last Iraqi monarch. It was on that basis that the court decided that Genevieve should receive 2/3 of the sum, and that Faisal's great-uncle, IIRC, should receive the other 1/3.

The U.S. legal system later threw out the Republic of Iraq's lawsuit wherein the republic tried to claim that these assets of the late king belonged to it, and not to Faisal's widow and his other surviving family.

Thank you for bringing this up. For some people who wants to know more about this case, REPUBLIC OF IRAQ v. FIRST NATIONAL CITY BANK. Please check the link below:

https://www.leagle.com/decision/1965808241fsupp5671702

 

[An Ard Ri]

On this day ,July 14th :The Overthrow of the King in 1958

 

[Benjamin]

Exactly. Some sources argue that she and King Faisal II got married. But given that the court ruled in favor of her and she was able to get 2/3 of his fortune, it's rather true.



I've read some sources saying she was also accused of sexually abusing her youngest son from her second husband (who subsequently she divorced) but I'm still researching more about this.



Her life is a tragedy, nonetheless. She died in 2010 according to some sources.

Genevieve Arnault married Walter Jackson in 1971; they were divorced in 1981.

You are right, she (and her boyfriend) was accused of sexually abusing her younger son. Her elder son’s testimony was key to the case. The older son then recanted his testimony, and the case was dropped. The child admitted that he had been partially coached by his father.

https://www.apnews.com/9e169d2d4bcff2498fbd2eb569610c04

Genevieve died at Port Jervis, New York, on 20 June 2010. She had been born at Paris on 22 June 1937.

 

[maria-olivia]

The then frontpage of Paris Match showed Princes Fazila and tittled : "Elle ne sera jamais Reine ".

 

[theroyalfly]

Genevieve Arnault married Walter Jackson in 1971; they were divorced in 1981.

You are right, she (and her boyfriend) was accused of sexually abusing her younger son. Her elder son’s testimony was key to the case. The older son then recanted his testimony, and the case was dropped. The child admitted that he had been partially coached by his father.

https://www.apnews.com/9e169d2d4bcff2498fbd2eb569610c04

Genevieve died at Port Jervis, New York, on 20 June 2010. She had been born at Paris on 22 June 1937.

Thank you for the confirmation. I was also reading the same source.

Her life was a tragic one. Indeed.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Asides from Genevieve did anyone else manage to escape ,Faisal II of Iraq had no siblings he did have an aunt Princess Rajiha Bint Faisal but as far as I'm aware she too was murdered?

 

[Rossina]

Asides from Genevieve did anyone else manage to escape ,Faisal II of Iraq had no siblings he did have an aunt Princess Rajiha Bint Faisal but as far as I'm aware she too was murdered?

The family members who survived are:
- Princess Hiyam, the third wife of Prince Abdul-Ilah
- Princess Badiya & her family

Princess Rajiha Bint Faisal I also survived the massacre but she passed away a few months later (on Feb 1, 1959) at Lausanne, Switzerland. She was buried at the Royal Mausoleum, Raghadan Palace, Amman, Jordan.

Her daughter Sharifa Huzaima Nasser ( nee Abd al-Jabbar) lived in Jordan with her family. She served for some time as a lady in waiting to Princess Muna Al-Hussein.

Sharifa Huzima was married to Sharif Ghazi bin Rakan Nasser, the couple had a son & three daughters:

- Sharif Rakan bin Ghazi Nasser. b. at Amman, Jordan, 30th August 1965, educ. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ, Dayona Beach, Florida, USA. m. Karima Rakan, née Yolanda Bravo Herradon. He d. 16th July 1992, having had issue, an only daughter:
(i) Sharifa Haya Sofia bint Rakan Nasser. b. 3rd July 1989, educ. Manhattan Sch of Music, New York, USA.

- Sharifa Rajha bint Ghazi Nasser. b. at Amman, Jordan, October 1969. Settled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. m. Amer Al-Muhaisen, CEO Oryx Transactions. She has issue, two sons and one daughter:
(i) Rakan Muhaisen.
(i) Hamza Muhaisen.
(ii) Ayyat Muhaisen. Copyright© Christopher Buyers

- Sharifa Sarra bint Ghazi. b. at Guildford, Surrey, 4th May 1971, educ. Roedean Sch, Brighton, Sussex, RMA Sandhurst, Univ Coll, London (B.Sc.) and Royal Inst of Counselling, Glasgow (cert.). Cmsnd as 2nd-Lieut Jordan Arab Army 1990, Directorate of Women's Affairs Head of Manpower 1993-1994, Head of Training 1994-1996, and Head of Cadet Programme Royal Hashemite Court since 2006. m. at Amman, Jordan, 4th August 1993, Raad bin Ghazi Al-Rifai (b. at Amman, Jordan, 3rd April 1965), educ. Univ. of Hartford, Connecticut (BSc), and Boston Univ., Massachusetts (MSc), USA, CEO The International Foundation for Investment Co Ltd, Vice-Chair Jordanian Public Payphones (JPP) Co Ltd until 1999, elder son of H.E. Ghazi bin Munir Al-Rifai, sometime Minister for Transport & Postal Services of Jordan, by his wife, Jacqueline Al-Rifai, née Chagniot, from France. She has issue, one son and three daughters:
(i) Faisal bin Raad Al-Rifai. b. 30th August 1995.
(i) Huzaima bint Raad Al-Rifai. b. 15th September 1997.
(ii) Sumaya bint Raad Al-Rifai. b. 1st June 2000.
(iii) Cathra bint Raad Al-Rifai. b. 1st November 2001.

- Sharifa Nafisa bint Ghazi. b. at Amman, Jordan, June 1978. m. at Amman, Jordan, 1998, Muhammad Alayyan (b. at Amman, Jordan, 1973), educ. Georgetown Univ, Washington DC, USA, Chair United Jordan Press Co, CEO & Publisher "Al Waseet" classified newspaper since 1998, Al Faridah Specialized Printing Co since 2000, and "Al Ghad" newspaper, Chair & MD Jordanian United TV Broadcasting Co. (ATV) 2007, Vice-Presdt International Advertising Assoc (Jordan Chapter), Mbr IFRA Brd, etc, son of Khalid M.B. Alayyan, Chair Suma Fruits International, National Arab Motors Co, Al Quds Insurance Co., etc. She has issue, one son and two daughters:
(i) Khalid Alayyan. b. 20th June 2001.
(i) Sara Alayyan. b. 1st December 1999.
(ii) Zain Alayyan. b. 4th June 2004.


Source: The Royal Ark

 

[An Ard Ri]

Thanks Rossina,I was just reading that Princess Hiyam was shot in the Palace Massacre but survived and Princess Badeea hid for one month and was smuggled out of Iraq.

What stories they could have told!

 

[Rossina]

You are welcome
Despite being seriously injured, Hiyam was lucky enough to survive the massacre. She was protected by some soldiers from her family tribe. Princess Badiya escaped with the help of the Saudi Embassy. She left Iraq with her family to Lebanon first & later settled in London.
The coup soldiers were merciless, they even abused the dead bodies of the king & his family members especially Price Abdul-Ilah.
Years later, upon King Hussein's request, the Iraqi authorities re-buried the victims' bodies at the royal mausoleum in Bagdad.

 

[maria-olivia]

Thanks to all the posters for their answer to my post.
This was very intersting , yes Rossina , the coup soldiers was merciless..Abusing the Royal dead Bodies , I never saw that.

I have a question:
What happen with their money and palaces ??

 

[Rossina]

Thanks to all the posters fot their answer to my post.
This was very intersting , yes Rossina , the coup soldiers was merciless..Abusing the Royal dead Bodies , I never saw that.

I have a question:
What happen with their money and palaces ??

All the royal residences in Iraq have been confiscated by the Iraqi government.

- Al Zahoor Palace (means Flowers) is the first royal palace in Iraq, I was built by King Faisal I and completed in the thirties of the twentieth century. It was then located on the river Khar or Alashash.
After the coup of 1958, the palace remained deserted for decades and was later annexed to the Al-Salam Palace when it was built. The palace was destroyed during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

https://postimg.cc/SXdY2xFx

- Al-Rehab Palace ( the massacre palace)is the second royal palace & was the official residence of King Feisal II. It was built at the expense of the royal family & located west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, specifically opposite to Al Zahoor Palace.

Al-Rehab Palace was named after the village of Al-Rehab near the city of Taif in Saudi Arabia, where the royal family descended. It was completed in 1937 under the supervision of Prince Abdul Ilah, the Custodian of the Throne then.

After the coup, the palace was left deserted and then used as a tourist investment and later turned to a permanent headquarters for the director of public security and became a prison. In 1973, the Iraqi authorities completely demolished the palace and broadcast the event on television.

- King Feisal`s Summer Palace is located at the town of Sersank, Duhok province, Iraqi Kurdistan.
The palace was built by King Faisal II in 1953 to be a summer residence for the King & the royal family. After the coup, it was used as a military barracks and later restored to become part of the presidential palaces under the rule of former President Saddam Hussein.
The palace was destroyed in the 1990s with the outbreak of the Kurdish uprising in Iraq. The authorities of Kurdistan have recently transferred its ownership to King Abdullah II of Jordan as the heir to the Iraqi royal family and. It is currently under renovation.

- King Feisal II`s Properties in the USA: ِAccording to the Iraqi press it was divided between Ms. Genevieve Arnault (two thirds) and Prince Zeid Bin Al Hussein, who inherited the remaining third.

- King Feisal II`s Palace in the UK: Ms. Genevieve Arnault filed a case in UK courts to inherit it but it was rejected because she failed to prove her marriage to the late King.

 

[Troy Thompson]

There's also the Republican Palace.


The present Republican Palace was originally envisioned as a royal palace. Faisal II commissioned its construction with the intent that it would become the new permanent seat of the Iraqi monarchy, but he never had the opportunity to actually live in it. After the 14 July Revolution, the palace was given its present name. I'm not sure if the Republican Palace was used as a presidential residence under Qasim, but I do know that it was used as such under the Ba'athist regime that followed him, and it the place where Saddam Hussein most preferred to meet with visiting heads of state. I believe it also became a central location for the Ba'ath Party leadership and, maybe, for the Revolutionary Command Council as well. Saddam also commissioned a rather large expansion of the Republican Palace during that time.

After coalition forces took Baghdad during the Iraq War, the Republican Palace became the seat of the Coalition Provisional Authority, and the central hub around which the "Green Zone" in Baghdad developed. Unfortunately, the disestablishment of the CPA marked the end of the Republican Palace's use as an official residence; Radwaniyah Palace, which was originally built under orders of Saddam Hussein for use as a presidential resort, became the new official residence of the President of Iraq.

After the CPA was folded up, the Republican Palace served as a temporary United States Embassy while the present United States Embassy in Baghdad was being constructed. I'm not sure what function the Republican Palace has been given since the U.S. Embassy moved down the street, though.

 

[Rossina]

Iraqi media reported the death of Princess Badiya Bint Ali today (May 9th) in London at the age of 100. The late princess is the sister of Queen Alia of Iraq, Prince Abd al-Ilah, and the Aunt of King Faisal II.

May GOD rest her soul in peace.

Sources: Ammon News

Iraqi Princess Badiya bint Ali dies aged 100

 

[An Ard Ri]

The Princess and her family manged to escape the 1958 massacre of the Royal Family and had lived in exile since. RIP

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1672796/middle-east

 

[Rossina]

The founder and head of the constitutional monarchy movement in Iraq, Sharif Ali bin Al Hussein, passed away on Monday, in the Jordanian capital, Amman, at the age of 66.

Iraq news agency


The late Sharif Ali is the youngest son of Iraq's Princess Badia bint Ali bin Al hussein and thus a maternal cousin to the late King Faisal II.

 

[eya]

"Photos from the funeral of Sharif Ali bin Al Hussein, the patron of the constitutional monarchy movement in Iraq, who died last week in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

The funeral was attended by their royal highnesses Prince Asem bin Nayef & Prince Mired bin Raad, the Chief Royal Councillor at the Royal Hashemite Court, along with the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Iraq's ambassador to Jordan."

https://www.instagram.com/p/CbTHzDQh65B/

 

[Toledo]

I didn't find in this section any thread related to ancient Kingdoms within the Middle East regions nor wanted to create another thread just for it. Since it pertains to the ancient life in now Iraq, I'll post it here so is easy to find for forum members looking for data and history on this topic.

The Royal Death Pits of Ur