The lustful last king of Egypt was strangled to death

After battling arteriosclerosis and other diseases for 9 years, Fawuzia, the daughter of the last king of Egypt, Fouad Farouk, recently died Died in hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the age of 84. Egyptian President Mubarak immediately instructed the Egyptian Consulate in Geneva to convey his "most sincere condolences" to the family of the deceased, and ordered the consulate to help transport Fawuzia's body back to Egypt for a burial. After many years of exile abroad, Fawuzia, who had been looking forward to returning to her hometown day and night, was finally able to return to her hometown and was buried next to the grave of her sister who died in 2003. Looking back on the past, many Egyptians recall the days of blood and fire 50 years ago and the last king Farouk who fled in a hurry.

Thirty-eight boxes of gold and silver treasures were taken away

1952 was a turning point in Egypt’s modern history. On July 23 of this year, the "Free Officers Organization" headed by Nasser launched an uprising, arrested all senior officers in the Egyptian army, took control of the army, and then directed the army to occupy government buildings, police stations and other places, taking control of the entire Cairo .

When the revolution was raging, the 32-year-old King Farouk was on vacation in the summer resort of Alexandria. He originally expected the British to intervene, but his former master turned against him. On July 26, Farouk was surrounded at the "Winter Palace" in Alexander and had to sign his abdication, symbolically giving up the throne to his 6-month-old son Ahmed, ending his 16-year career as the last emperor. . Farooq knew that his future was hopeless. That night, he secretly loaded 38 boxes of gold and silver treasures onto a speedboat, took his children and fled to Greece at night, and then to Rome, Italy and other places.

Often eating in silence

In Egyptian history, the Farouk dynasty was a corrupt and incompetent dynasty. Although King Farouk himself was good at handwriting, he also valued education and established some old technical schools, but he governed the country in a bad way, and even the ministers at the time privately said that he was fatuous.

Farouq was lustful and liked beautiful women. During his rule, news often circulated in Egypt that he was getting married again. When he first went into exile in Rome, he saw a blond beauty on the street. He walked up to her and proposed to her as if she was in a deserted place. He even forgot that he was a king in trouble.

In addition to liking women and racing cars, Farooq also has some incredible hobbies: he loves to eat, and he eats it to the extreme; he loves to steal, and he steals regardless of his identity; he loves to collect, and he doesn’t hesitate to pick up the things he likes. Heavy gold.

In the past, he responded to everything, but now he is in exile in another country. It is difficult for Faruk to adapt to this huge contrast. During the first few years of his exile, he settled in a villa outside Rome. At that time, what people saw most was that he stayed in his room every day, eating in front of the wall, without saying a word. "Turn depression into food intake" caused Farooq, who was already short, fat, broad-shouldered and round-waisted, to gain weight rapidly. In the first year of his exile, his weight increased to 300 pounds. He was only 33 years old at the time, but he looked much older than his actual age. By the time he was 40, Farooq had gained weight again and became less active. He shut himself in a dark room all day long, watching TV and eating chocolates one after another.

On March 17, 1965, 45-year-old Farouk died in Rome. The cause of death is still unknown. Some say he was assassinated, some said he died of illness, and some said he was strangled to death due to eating too much. In the meal before his death, he ate 12 large lobsters, 10 oysters, 8 fish, 5 bowls of fried rice, in addition to countless cheeses, jams, flatbreads, beans, vegetables and fruits. It is said that after eating these, Farooq fell on the sofa, breathing rapidly, and by the time people realized something was wrong, he was dead.

Learn from a habitual thief

Farooq was very interested in the minister's things during his lifetime, but he did not ask for them, but stole them. Even in diplomatic settings, he did the same to foreign envoys. At every cocktail party held at the palace, Farooq would shuttle between dignitaries from various countries with a smile on his face, and he would show no mercy when he saw his target.

When he was almost done stealing, he contentedly hid in the room alone, took out the "trophies" hidden in his waist and pockets and looked at them carefully, including wallets, wallets, lighters, watches, key chains, etc., and even women. He doesn’t “dislike” her makeup box or lipstick.

If you often walk by the river, your shoes will inevitably get wet. Once, when British Prime Minister Churchill visited Cairo, Farooq fell in love with Churchill's pocket watch. Unable to restrain himself, he simply took action. Unexpectedly, he was discovered because of his poor stealing skills. Finally, due to the protests of the British government, Farooq reluctantly returned the pocket watch. Faruk, who was severely frustrated, vowed to work hard to practice his "skills". He personally visited the prison and found a detained famous thief to "become his apprentice".

It is said that after some guidance, Faruk’s “level” has improved significantly. "A man of great skill is bold." In 1944, the funeral of an exiled king was held in Cairo. Farouk actually stole medals, swords, etc. from the king's body without being discovered.

Traveling a Thousand Miles Just for a Match Trademark

Compared with the previous two hobbies, King Farouk’s third hobby is more elegant. He likes collecting very much and is very interested in antiques. He is very enthusiastic about famous paintings and is also very interested in some other rare items.

Sweden is a kingdom of matches. One year, a Swedish match trademark with a long history was discovered in Denmark. After hearing the news, Faruk took a special plane all the way to Copenhagen and bought the match at a high price. Trademark buyback.

In Farooq’s collection, there are more than 8,500 precious gold coins alone. One of the "Golden Eagle" gold coins with a face value of $20 minted by the United States in 1907 is even more eye-catching. About 450,000 "Golden Eagle" gold coins were minted in the United States. Because the U.S. government at the time believed that the wings of the golden eagle in the mint pattern were too low and damaged the image of the United States, it decided to return all the gold coins that had been minted. But during the destruction process, 10 pieces were still missing.

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency investigated the case and successfully recovered 9 of them, but the result of the 10th one has yet to be found. The only "Golden Eagle" gold coin that "missed the net" fell into the hands of Farooq. He bought it at a high price and reported it to the U.S. Treasury Department a few days before the CIA discovered that the "Golden Eagle" gold coin had been stolen in 1944. After applying for an export license, officials from the U.S. Treasury Department approved the license because they did not know the details of the gold coins at the time. It was not until the new Egyptian government auctioned Farouk's collection that U.S. intelligence agents discovered the missing "Golden Eagle" gold coin and immediately asked the Egyptian government to stop the auction and return the gold coin to the United States. Although the auction was stopped, the gold coin mysteriously disappeared and did not appear until many years later.

In July 2002, this "Golden Eagle" gold coin was auctioned in New York for a sky-high price of US$6.6 million, becoming the most expensive gold coin in the world. At the same time, it has also become the first coin issued without the channels of the Federal Reserve Bank or the Mint's Financial Management Department in the more than 200 years of coinage history in the United States, which is extremely precious. For this, Farooq’s collection is indispensable.

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