KING FAROUK I.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 214, 10 August 1937, Page 2

KING FAROUK I.

WORLD’S YOUNGEST MONARCH. DEMOCRATIC LEANINGS. “It is nothing to be a Prince, but' it is something to be usefuj,” was a favourite saying of the late King Fuad, the father of King Farouk, who was recently invested at Cairo as the reigning monarch of Egypt, and is the youngest reigning monarch in the world.

King Fuad resolved that nothing should distract the attention of the Heir to the Throne from educational pursuits, which included, however, a fair proportion of games ond open-air recreations. Himself an early riser and hard worker, King Fuad saw to it that his son also acquired these commendable habits. Having in his later years found cause to regret his inability to speak English with any facility. King Fuad also took pains to see that his son did not labour under a similar disadvantage. _ - Thus it was that, from his earliest years, the Crown Prince Farouk had English nurses, and later English tutors, so that he now speaks English perfectly, as well as French and, naturally, the language of his people, Arabic. WINNING MANNER. King Farouk lias the advantage of good looks, good health, and a fine physique, combined with discerning tact and a direct and winning manner. At the age of 12 lie took his father’s place for the first time at an official function, and impressed all who saw him by his self-possession. After that, lie often appeared in public. _ ' An annual “treat” to which as a little boy he eagerly looked forward was the day on which’, ns Chief Scout of Egypt, he was permitted to review his own troop of Boy Scouts in the Palace grounds. King Farouk hones to revisit England this summer. During his last visit his only public engagement was at the funeral of King George V, when he represented King Fuad in the nrocession through London, and at Windsor. He was much touched by the friendly welcome given him bv the British Roval Family, and. quite unrecognised by the British public, he moved about freely in London, riding in the underground railways and buses for the fii*st time in his' life, and mingling with crowds in the streets. Ho is a great reader. One of his chief delights in London was to explore the shops of the West End booksellers. He knew Charing Cross Road from end to end. DEMOCRACY FOSTERED.

His stay in England is said to have fostered his democratic leanings, and since his return to Egypt he has more than once gratified his people by appearing among them unannounced, unguarded, and without ceremony. His happy manner of acknowledging their salutations has enchanted the Egyptian masses, who are peculiarly susceptible to a friendly and courteous gesture. . „ .. Farouk, an appellation of Omar, the second Khalifa after the Prophet, signifies “One who distinguishes between Right and Wrong.” Although bv our calendar King Farouk was only 17 last February, he comes of age. according to Egyptian custom, as the age of 18. to-day. He was horn in the month of Gamad Awal, 1356. year of the Hegira, which is a few days shorter than ours.