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Bizarre: Some of the Modern Era’s Oddest Rulers

Khalid Elhassan January 21, 2025 14 min

Bizarre - The coronation of Emperor Bokassa I — The coronation of Emperor Bokassa I. Wikimedia

15. A Royal “Stomach With a Head”

Egypt’s King Farouk I (1920 – 1965) reigned from 1936 until he was overthrown in 1952. His years as Egypt’s last king were marked by widespread corruption, incompetence, and bizarre conduct. A kleptomaniac, Farouk could not resist stealing things, and often picked people’s pockets. He also was an avid pornography collector. Farouk was popular early in his reign, when he ascended the throne as a slim and handsome young man. He quickly squandered the goodwill with his incompetent governance, and his good looks were soon ruined by gluttony that saw him balloon to 300 pounds. Farouk became an object of derision, widely lampooned as a “stomach with a head”. His lavish lifestyle while his subjects endured World War II’s hardships further tanked his popularity.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.