Iffat bint Mohammad Al Thunayan

He was born in 1843 on the day his father Abdullah bin Thunayan, Emir of Nejd, died.

Due to this coincidence he was named after his father.

He left Nejd for Constantinople where he married a Circassian-origin Turkish woman, Tazeruh Hanım.

They had four children: Mohammad, Ahmed, Suleiman, and Jawhara.

Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Thunayan, Iffat's father, was a physician in the Ottoman army and her mother, Asia, was a Turkish woman.

Mohammad was killed while fighting in the Balkan War.

Iffat had a full-brother, Zaki, and two maternal half-brothers, Kamal and Mozaffar Adham.

Her paternal uncle, Ahmed bin Abdullah, was one of the advisors to King Abdulaziz.

Following the marriage of her mother to another man Iffat and her aunt Jawhara lived together, and Iffat was educated in Constantinople.

She went to school wearing shoes stuffed with paper instead of soles.

She attended both Ottoman schools and modern schools following the establishment of the Republic of Turkey.

Finally, she attained a teaching degree.

She was born in Constantinople in 1916.

Iffat's paternal grandfather was Abdullah bin Abdullah bin Thunayan Al Saud.

In 1925, Iffat's family asked for financial assistance for a Makkah pilgrimage for Iffat.

One of Iffat's relatives, Laila Al Thunayan, was married to Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

In 1931, Prince Faisal met Iffat for the first time while she was undertaking a Makkah pilgrimage with her aunt.

Prince Faisal, who served as viceroy of the Hijaz, took Iffat back to Turkey with her aunt.

However, there is another report about their meeting for the first time, stating that they first met in Constantinople in 1932 when Prince Faisal visited the city following an official visit to the Soviet Union.

It follows that he and Iffat went to Jeddah together after this incident.

They married in Jeddah in 1932 and lived in Mecca.

As neither spoke the other's language, they taught each other.

They had nine children – five sons and four daughters: Mohammad, Bandar, Saud, Turki, Abdul Rahman, Lolowah, Sarah, Latifa and Haifa.

Four of their children learned Turkish at home.

Iffat became a fluent Arabic-speaker, but never lost her Turkish accent.

Their sons are very educated and are alumni of Princeton, Harvard, Georgetown, Sandhurst, and Cranwell.

She contacted foreign tutors to educate her daughters.

In stark contrast, only six of the 107 children of Faisal's older half-brother Saud even completed high school.

Queen Iffat was an informal title given to her because of her beloved status in Saudi Arabia.

During the 1960s, she established the first two social agencies in Saudi Arabia — Women's Welfare Association in Jeddah and Al Nahdah Women's Welfare Association in Riyadh.

These programs are still available today.

In 1967, Iffat began making public appearances at state events.

She became honorary president of the "Saudi Arabian Renaissance Society" — a woman's society in Riyadh to teach women skills in crafts, and to assist needy families — in the organization's fifth anniversary.

Her "Saudi Renaissance Movement" sponsored free clinics and literary classes for women.

Her comprehensive philanthropic activities included social welfare for women.

Iffat bint Mohammad Al Thunayan (عفت بنت محمد الثنيان ʿIffat bint Moḥammad Āl Ṯunayān, İffet bint Muhammed es Saniyan; 1916 – 17 February 2000) was a Turkish-born education activist and Saudi princess who was the most prominent wife of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.

She is sometimes called Queen Iffat (الملكة عفت Al-Malika ʿIffat) or Princess Iffat (الأميرة عفت Al-Emira ʿIffat).

She is known for her efforts in the improvement of Saudi education.

She was the founder of Taif model school and the first girl's college in Saudi Arabia.

Iffat was part of the Al Thunayan cadet branch of the Al Saud.