Dürrüşehvar Sultan

, April 1920 Dürrüşehvar Sultan was born on 26 January 1914 at the Çamlıca Palace in Üsküdar, then part of İstanbul, when the Ottoman Caliphate was passing through its last phase. Her father was the future Caliph Abdulmejid II, son of Sultan Abdulaziz and Hayranidil Kadın. Her mother was Mehisti Hanım, daughter of Hacımaf Akalsba and Safiye Hanım. She had a half-brother, Şehzade Ömer Faruk, from her father's first consort. ==Marriage==

As a teenager, Dürrüşehvar's beauty attracted many suitors, despite belonging to a fallen dynasty. She was sought by the Shah of Persia and King Fuad I of Egypt as a bride for their respective heirs, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and Farouk, and by Prince Azam Jah (1907–1970), the eldest son and heir of Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan. In 1930, 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. After they reached Hyderabad, a banquet was held at the Chowmahalla Palace on 4 January 1932. They then settled down in their respective homes. Dürrüşehvar and Azam Jah settled down in Bella Vista, Hyderabad. She received the title of Durdana Begum from the Nizam, held the title of Her Highness The Princess of Berar. She was taller than Azam Jah, and the Nizam thought that was a great joke. He regularly used to point out the difference in their height at parties. She knew of her husband's numerous concubines but carried herself regally. However, the differences between the two of them eventually led to their marriage falling apart around 1954, and after the divorce, Dürrüşehvar stayed in Hyderabad for some years, then moved to London. She conserved her title of "Princess of Berar". Her mother, who was with her in India during all her marriage, returned by her husband. ==Public life==

, 1934 A highly respected and well-educated lady, the princess was fluent in French, Turkish, English and also Urdu. She established a junior college for girls in her name in Yakutpura, Bagh-e-jahan Ara, Hyderabad, On 4 November 1936, she laid the foundation stone of Hyderabad's Begumpet airport's first terminal, On 23 June 1937, she accompanied her husband during the visit to lay the foundation stone of a new mosque in Kensington and was at Ranelagh to see Bhopal win the Ranelagh Open Polo Cup. Beaton photographed her in her palace in India in 1944, and then in 1965 in France. ==Later life and death==

She ensured her sons, Prince Mukarram Jah and Prince Muffakam Jah, received the best possible western education in Europe and married Turkish brides, as she desired. Mukarram studied in Eton. Years later, he was declared heir to Hyderabad throne, at the suggestion of his grandfather, and served as honorary aide-de-camp to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1983, she sponsored the Durru Shehvar Children's & General Hospital in Hyderabad under the patronage of her son Mukarram Jah. In 1990, she, her son Mufakkham Jah and his wife Esin attended the Durban Dinner, along with the Indian and Pakistani High Commissioners in London to commemorate the 400th year of the foundation of Hyderabad. She visited Hyderabad lastly in 2004, She was upset about Turkish Government's attitude against her family members after declaration of the republic. Despite being a member of Ottoman imperial and royal family, she refused to be buried in Turkey, since she was upset that the Turkish Government refused her father's burial in Istanbul in 1944. At her death, the Daily Telegraph newspaper wrote: "There was an occasion when she was lunching with a friend in Oxfordshire, at which Princess Margaret was also a guest. The weather was inclement, and both Princesses were invited to plant cedars of Lebanon. Princess Margaret eventually did so - reluctantly - while the Princess of Berar performed her duty with her customary quiet dignity. Today Princess Margaret’s tree struggles, while the Princess of Berar’s thrives". ==Legacy==

She is remembered for teaching the 'power of silence', and establishing several maternity units, schools, colleges, dispensaries and Durru Shehvar Children's & General Hospital in Hyderabad. ==Honour==

• Order of the House of Osman ==Issue==