Nilufer Hanımsultan

Nilüfer Hanımsultan; (نیلوفر خانم سلطان, "water lily", married: Princess Niloufer Khanum Sultan Farhat Begum Sahiba نیلوفر فرحت بیگم صاحبہ; 4 January 1916 – 12 June 1989), nicknamed as the Kohinoor of Hyderabad, was an Ottoman princess.

She was the first wife of Moazzam Jah, the second son of Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad in India.

Nilüfer Hanımsultan was born on 4 January 1916 at the Göztepe Palace in Istanbul, at a time when her mother's family was ruling the Ottoman Empire.

Her father was Damad Moralızade Selaheddin Ali Bey, son of Moralızade Mehmed Ali Bey and Zehra Aliye Hanım.

Her mother was Adile Sultan, a daughter of Şehzade Mehmed Selaheddin and Tevhide Zatıgül Hanım, and a granddaughter of Sultan Murad V.

In December 1918, aged two, she lost her father.

At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, she and her mother settled in France, taking up residence in the Mediterranean city of Nice.

In 1931, Caliph Abdulmejid II arranged marriage of his only daughter, Dürrüşehvar Sultan to Azam Jah, elder son and heir to Mir Osman Ali Khan, Nizam of Hyderabad, and Mahpeyker Hanımsultan, daughter of Naciye Sultan and Enver Pasha to Moazzam Jah, second son of the Nizam.

According to some sources, the Nizam was trying hard to obtain the hand of her cousin, Dürrüşehvar, for his eldest son.

Unhappy with the high mahr demanded by her family, he finally settled for a second Ottoman bride to be included in the deal.

However, Şehzade Osman Fuad and his wife the Egyptian princess Kerime Hanım wanted the Nizam's younger son to marry Niloufer, whom they had prepared to marry someone rich.

They dressed her up, made her look pretty, and introduced her to Muazzam Jah.

Niloufer, who was then a ravishing beauty, was so attractive that Mahpeyker could not compare.

When Muazzam Jah saw her he completely forgot about Mahpeyker, and insisted on marrying Niloufer.

On 12 November 1931, aged fifteen, Niloufer married Moazzam Jah, at Villa Carabacel in Nice.

The Nizam's elder son was married to Niloufer's cousin, Dürrüşehvar.

The marriage was performed by Damad Mehmed Şerif Pasha, husband of Abdulmejid's half-sister Emine Sultan.

The local newspapers were full of photographs of the Indian princes when they arrived for the weddings, with headlines like A Thousand and One Nights and A Muslim Wedding.

After the wedding the bridal pair returned to the hotel where they had stayed.

After the religious ceremony, the newly weds went to the British consulate to complete their civil marriage, and validate their prenuptial agreement, according to which, in the event of divorce or death of the husband, Niloufer would receive seventy five thousand dollars in compensation.

Following the festivities in Nice, the princesses and their husbands set sail from Venice on 12 December 1931 to her father-in-law's court in Hyderabad, India.

They boarded the ocean liner Pilsna.

Mahatma Gandhi had boarded the ship after attending the Second Round Table Conference in London in 1931, and was travelling back to India.

It is reported that he met with the princesses.

On the way, they were taught how to wear sarees, and the expected etiquette in the presence of the Nizam.

After their landing in Bombay, they boarded the private train of the Nizam.

Niloufer's and Dürrüşehvar's mothers also accompanied them.

There was also a midwife, a French lady, to help with their future pregnancies.

When the princesses arrived in Hyderabad, they were given a lavish welcome.

A banquet was held at the Chowmahalla Palace on 4 January 1932.

They then settled down in their respective homes.

Niloufer and Mouzzam Jah settled in the Hill Fort building on Naubhat Pahad.

Moazzam Jah doted on Niloufer, getting her painted and photographed.

While Niloufer's private life seemed empty due to lack of children, she compensated by making her public life very glittering.

She was part of the elite women's club at the time, Lady Hydari Club.

Unlike other ladies in her family (this is true of both her natal family in Turkey and her marital family in India) who felt that their dignity and "honour" lay in not making "public spectacles" of themselves, Niloufer preferred to move about the city quite freely, leaving the zenana of the palace frequently to attend public engagements, cocktail parties and late-night revels.

She attended many functions and also inaugurated several events.

As no other lady of the Hyderabad royal family had ever moved about unveiled or attended cocktail parties or even official public events, Niloufer came to be regarded as a torch-bearer for women's advancement.

For arranging the wedding, Osman Füad received £25,000 annually, until 1952.

A day before the wedding, the princes arrived in Nice from London by express train, and stayed at the Hotel Negresco.