Rensselaer Journal, Volume 10, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1901 — Egypt’s Lovely Khedivah. [ARTICLE]

Egypt’s Lovely Khedivah.

The Khedive of Egypt is one of the few Eastern rulers who has lived in a genuine love story, with the heroine for his wife. The lovely Ikbal Hanem is of the Circassian race. She was formerly a slave of the Vididi (Dowager) Khedivah, at whose house the then young ruler of Egypt first saw her. As beauty gives rank in the Orient, the young slave’s condition did not interfere with her advancement. She was courted and won by the dashing young prince and finally formally married to him and raised to the rank of Khedivah. The happy couple model their household after the European fashion. She neither paints nor powders her face, as is the custom of Egyptian women of high rank. She likes European dress and has European servants and governesses for her three daughters. She studies with her children, and has an open, inquiring mind. The Khedivah "has one of the most sumptuous yachts in the world. The saloons are most magnificently upholstered in white satin, brocaded with pink roses, the cornices done in real gold, while the panels are hung with beautiful pictures. Her own room is decorated in pink and white, the bed, with its lace trimmings, looking particularly invit-' ing.