Faisal II

Faisal II, born on May second, nineteen thirty-five, was the last King of Iraq, ascending to the throne at the tender age of three following the tragic death of his father, King Ghazi, in a car accident. His early reign was marked by a regency led by his uncle, Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, who guided the young king through a tumultuous period in Iraqi history.

In nineteen forty-one, a pro-Axis coup d'état temporarily ousted the regent, prompting British intervention to restore 'Abd al-Ilah to power. During World War II, Faisal and his mother were evacuated to the United Kingdom, where he received his education at Harrow School alongside his cousin, Hussein, who would later become the King of Jordan. The regency officially ended in May nineteen fifty-three when Faisal came of age.

The political landscape shifted dramatically in the late nineteen fifties, particularly after the overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy in nineteen fifty-two and the establishment of the United Arab Republic. In February nineteen fifty-eight, the Hashemite Arab Federation was formed between Iraq and Jordan, with Faisal as its head, yet this did little to quell the growing discontent among the populace.

On July fourteenth, nineteen fifty-eight, a coup d'état led by a faction of the Royal Iraqi Army, headed by Abdul-Karim Qasim, resulted in the overthrow of the monarchy. Tragically, Faisal was executed during the Al-Rehab Palace massacre, marking the end of the thirty-seven-year-old Hashemite monarchy in Iraq and the transition to a republic.