Iffat Al-Thunayan

Iffat bint Mohammad Al Thunayan ( ʿIffat bint Moḥammad Āl Ṯunayān, ; 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 ( Al-Malika ʿIffat) or Princess Iffat ( 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. Early life and education Iffat was part of the Al Thunayan cadet branch of the Al Saud. She was born in Constantinople in 1916. Iffat's grandfather was Abdullah bin Abdullah bin Thunayan Al Saud. He was born in 1843 on the day his father Abdullah bin Thunayan, Emir of Nejd, died. Due to this coincidence he was given his father's name. 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 Adham 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. In 1925, Iffat's family asked for financial assistance for a Makkah pilgrimage for Iffat.