11. This King’s Pickpocketing Habit Was Eclipsed by His Adult Entertainment Habit
During a state dinner hosted by King Farouk, Winston Churchill discovered that his pocket watch – a prized family heirloom – had gone missing. After an outcry and search, the Egyptian king, who had been seated next to Churchill, sheepishly turned it in, claiming to have “found” it. It was just one example of Farouk’s bizarre behavior. Early in WWII, he had repeated nightmares in which he was chased by a ravenous lion. Frazzled from loss of sleep, he consulted the rector of Cario’s ancient Al Azhar University, who advised him “You will not rest until you have shot a lion“. So Farouk went to the zoo and shot two lions in their cages.
By 1952, Farouk’s corruption and maladministration had completely eroded his standing, and he was overthrown in a coup. Hastily fleeing Egypt, he left most of his possessions behind. The new government auctioned his belongings, and in the process discovered his stash of adult entertainment. This was in the days when it all was hardcopy. Farouk had entire rooms filled with the stuff, and it soon became clear that the Egyptian king had a serious adult magazine habit. So serious that he had amassed the world’s biggest adult entertainment collection. He settled first in Monaco, then in Rome, where he literally ate himself away, collapsing at a restaurant dinner table after a heavy meal in 1965.
