Necla Hibetullah ''Sultan'' (, "''feminine''" and "''gift of Allah''"; also Necla Osmanoğlu, 16 May 1926 – 6 October 2006) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter

Şehzade Ömer Faruk Şehzade Ömer Faruk Efendi (; also Ömer Faruk Osmanoğlu; 27 February 1898 – 28 March 1969) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman prince, the son of the last caliph of Muslim world Abdulmejid II and his first consort Şehsuvar Hanım. He was also th ...

, the son of the last caliph,

Abdulmejid II ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of , ), also spelled as Abd ul Majid, Abd ul-Majid, Abd ol Majid, Abd ol-Majid, and Abdolmajid, is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Maj ...

, and

Şehsuvar Hanım Şehsuvar Hanım (; 2 May 1881 – 1945; meaning "intrepid heroine"), called also Şehsuvar Kadın, was the first consort of Abdulmejid II, the last Caliph of the Ottoman Caliphate. Life Of Turkish and Ubykh people, Ubykh origin, Şehsuvar Han� ...

. Her mother was

Sabiha Sultan Rukiye Sabiha Sultan (; "''charm''" and "''morning''" or "''beautiful''"; after 1952 Sabiha Osmanoğlu; 19 March 1894 – 26 August 1971) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman princess, the third and last daughter of Sultan Mehmed VI and his first wife ...

, daughter of Sultan

Mehmed VI Mehmed VI Vahideddin ( ''Meḥmed-i sâdis'' or ''Vaḥîdü'd-Dîn''; or /; 14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926), also known as ''Şahbaba'' () among the Osmanoğlu family, was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the penultimate Ottoman Cal ...

and Nazikeda Kadın.

Early life

Necla Sultan was born on 16 May 1926 in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Her father was

, son of

and

, and her mother was

, daughter of

and Nazikeda Kadın. She was the youngest child of her parents. She had two sisters, Neslişah Sultan, five years older than her and Zehra Hanzade Sultan, three years older than her. Upon the news of her birth, her paternal grandfather Abdulmejid, named her Hibetullah, whereas her maternal grandfather Mehmed, send a telegram from

Sanremo Sanremo, also spelled San Remo in English and formerly in Italian, is a (municipality) on the Mediterranean coast of Liguria, in northwestern Italy. Founded in Roman times, it has a population of 55,000, and is known as a tourist destination ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

conveying his blessings and naming her Necla. Hence her name was 'Necla Hibetullah'. However, some hours later another telegram arrived from San Remo, which turned the joyous day to unbearable suffering, Sultan Mehmed died after some hours after the birth of Necla, hence the day turned sorrowful. Necla spend her childhood in France, Behzade Kalfa took care of Necla when she was young. As Behzade had cold relations with her grandfather, she did her competence to set her against her grandmother Şehsuvar, but despite this negative side she took care of Necla adroitly. In 1938, Necla, her parents and sisters moved to Egypt.

Marriage

In 1940, due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Necla and her family was impoverished, as Abdulmejid wasn't able to send them money. The same year, her sisters married Egyptian princes, Neslişah married Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim, and Hanzade married Prince Muhammad Ali, respectively. In 1943, Necla married Egyptian prince, Amr Ibrahim in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, hence the three sisters were all married into the same dynasty, and were styled as "princesses of Egypt and princesses of Ottoman Empire". The couple's only child, a son Prince Osman Rifat was born on 20 May 1951 in Cairo. In 1953, Necla, her husband and son settled in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, after the proclamation of Egypt as a republic in 1952. Necla's father, Ömer Faruk developed an increased interest in his cousin Mihrişah Sultan, the daughter of crown prince

Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin Efendi (; ; 11 October 1857 – 1 February 1916) was an Ottoman prince, the eldest son of Sultan Abdülaziz and his first consort Dürrinev Kadın. Early life and education Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin was born on 29 Septe ...

. It was also a public knowledge that things were not going well between Faruk and her mother Sabiha. She and her sisters sided with their mother. Faruk accused Sabiha of turning their daughters against him. But he was already in love with Mihrişah and the issue of the council was just an excuse. In 1948, after twenty-eight years of marriage, Faruk divorced Sabiha, and married Mihrişah, After the revocation of the law of exile for princesses in 1952, her mother moved to Istanbul. Necla was widowed by the death of Amr Ibrahim in 1977.

Death

Necla Sultan died on 6 October 2006, at the age of eighty in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. On 16 October her body was taken to Istanbul. The funeral took place in Bebek Mosque, and was attended by her eldest sister Neslişah, her son Osman Rifat, and other members of Ottoman dynasty. She was buried beside her mother and elder sister Hanzade in Aşiyan Asri Cemetery, Istanbul.

Issue

By her marriage, Necla Sultan had a son: * Prince Sultanzade Osman Rifat Ibrahim Bey (20 May 1951 – 1 February 2025). Born in

. He died unmarried and spent most of his life and died in

Honour

* Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of the Eagle of Georgia The Order of the Eagle of Georgia and the Seamless Tunic of Our Lord Jesus Christ ( ka, საქართველოს არწივისა და უფლისა ჩვენისა იესო ქრისტეს უკერ� ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Necla Sultan 1926 births 2006 deaths Muhammad Ali dynasty princesses 20th-century Ottoman princesses Turkish emigrants to Egypt Turkish emigrants to Switzerland Swiss emigrants to Spain 20th-century Turkish women 21st-century Turkish women Burials at Aşiyan Asri Cemetery