Last survivor of Iraq royal family

16/01/2025

The Iraqi Revolution of 1958 brought a violent and tragic end to the Hashemite monarchy, with most members of the royal family executed during the coup. Amid this turmoil, one member of the family, Princess Badea Ali, survived. Alongside her husband, Al-Sharif Hussein bin Ali, and their three sons – Abdullah, Mohammad, and Ali – she narrowly escaped the massacre that claimed the lives of her immediate relatives.

Princess Badea Ali was the daughter of King Ali of Hijaz and the granddaughter of Al-Sharif Hussain and a member of the Hashemite dynasty, which had ruled Iraq since 1921. On July 14, 1958, a coup led by Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim and Colonel Abdul Salam Arif stormed AlRihab Palace in Baghdad.

Executed that morning were King Faisal II, Crown Prince Abdul Ilah, Princess Hiyam (the Crown Prince’s wife), Queen Nafeesa (Princess Badea’s mother) , Princess Abadiya (King Faisal II’s aunt), and several palace guards and servants.

Unlike her relatives, Princess Badea and her family were not at the palace during the coup. As violence unfolded in Baghdad, they fled to the Saudi Embassy, where they were granted refuge.

The embassy protected them from the coup leaders, who sought to eliminate the monarchy entirely.

After spending a month under the embassy’s protection, Princess Badea and her family left Iraq. Their first destination was Cairo, where they stayed temporarily before moving to Lebanon. The family settled in Lebanon for some time, but the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war in 1975 forced them to leave once again.

Finally, they made their home in London, where Princess Badea lived out the rest of her life.

The loss of her family and homeland deeply impacted Princess Badea, yet she remained a figure of quiet dignity in exile. Her survival preserved a connection to the Hashemite dynasty and served as a poignant reminder of the monarchy’s tragic downfall.

Princess Badea Ali passed away in London, far from the country her family once ruled. Her story of survival and resilience offers a window into a tumultuous chapter in Iraq’s history, highlighting both the fragility of power and the enduring human cost of political upheaval.