King of Egypt

King of Egypt (ملك مصر) was the title used by the ruler of Egypt between 1922 and 1951. When the United Kingdom issued the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence on 28 February 1922, thereby ending its protectorate over Egypt, Egypt's Sultan Fouad I issued a decree on 15 March 1922 whereby he adopted the title of King of Egypt. It has been reported that the title change was due not only to Egypt's newly independent status, but also to Fouad I's desire to be accorded the same title as the newly installed rulers of the newly created kingdoms of Hejaz, Syria and Iraq. The second monarch to be styled King of Egypt was Fouad I's son Farouk I, whose title was changed to King of Egypt and the Sudan in October 1951 following the Wafdist government's unilateral abrogation of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. The monarchy was abolished on 18 June 1953 following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 and the establishment of a republic. The third king, the infant Fuad II of Egypt (Farouk having abdicated following the revolution), went into exile in Italy. The position was replaced by the President of Egypt on June 18 1953.

The rulers of ancient Egypt may be described using the title King (a translation of the Egyptian word nsw) or pharaoh (derived from pr ˤ3). The story of Moses in the Quran includes his interaction with the ruler of Egypt, named Pharaoh (فرعون). The earlier story of Joseph in Islam refers to the Egyptian ruler as a king (ملك).