On the thirtieth anniversary of King Farouk’s birth, his mother, Queen Nazli, recounted the story of his birth, which was published on the front page of the Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper in its February 11, 1950 issue. Akhbar Al-Youm quoted Queen Nazli as saying, “King Fuad longed for a son to be his heir. He was so preoccupied with this matter that astrologers sent us many letters and prophecies predicting that the child would be a boy. But King Fuad was anxious. I often heard him pray to God to grant him a son. He was certain that this boy would be a symbol of stability for the country.
King Fuad used to say that a son from his own line and the lines of Khedive Ismail, Ibrahim Pasha, and Muhammad Ali Pasha would be a great king. While King Fuad I was sitting with me in the palace, a white bulbul came and perched on the windowpane.
The king turned to me and said that I would give birth to a son if this bulbul sang three times. Indeed, the bulbul sang three times, and King Fuad rejoiced, his eyes shining with happiness. I then asked King Fuad how he knew she would have a boy, and he replied, ‘It was when Prince Ahmed Seif El-Din accidentally shot me, severely wounding me. The doctors couldn’t anesthetize me before removing the bullet, so they operated while I was awake.
The surgery was painful and dangerous. Even my mother, may God have mercy on her, fainted from the horror of it. I lay in my bed, despairing of life. Everything around me reminded me of death - my mother’s pale face, the doctors’ anxious expressions, and the nurse’s impassive look.
I saw a white nightingale perched on the windowpane and said to myself, ‘If it sings three times, I will survive.’ I vowed that if I survived, I would dedicate my life to my country. Indeed, the nightingale sang three times, and I survived. I know that I owe every hour of my life to my country.’
On Wednesday, February 11, 1920, King Fuad was in a room next to mine. He paced anxiously until God blessed us with Farouk. Madame Robert rushed to inform King Fuad in Arabic, ‘Congratulations, a boy… a boy!’ At that moment, the King sat down on the nearest chair, his eyes brimming with tears. He came to my room, took the newborn Farouk in his arms, kissed him, and said, ‘Thank you, Lord. He will be a great king.’ And then, above my window, I saw a white nightingale, and it sang three times.”
