Arife Kadriye Sultan

Arife Kadriye Sultan was born on 24 March 1895 in the Yıldız Palace.[1][2] Her father was Şehzade Ibrahim Tevfik, son of Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin and Mestinaz Hanım,[3] and her mother was Fevziye Hanım, an Abkhazian.[4] She was the oldest child of her father and the only child of her mother. Her mother died when she was three years old.[1]

Arife married Fenarizade Mehmed Raşid on 13 December 1914 in the Nişantaşı Palace. On 6 February 1923, she gave birth to Melike Hanımsultan in Istanbul, who was followed by Emire Hanımsultan born on 7 December 1927 in Nice, France.[1]

At the exile of the imperial family in 1924, Kadriye Sultan was sick, and so was allowed to remain in the capital, until she recovered. Hatice Sultan, the daughter of Sultan Murad V also shared mansion with her, which was used a primary school.[5] Following her recovery, she along with her husband and daughters were exiled to Austria, and then to Nice, France.[6] Arife was a pianist,[7] and during the exile, she used to play piano for covering the family's financial troubles.[7] She also composed various compositions for the piano.[8] Her husband also used to sell matches on the streets.[5] Arife befriended a Swiss lady, Rosa Keller, who was in France due to studies, and the two remained closed until her death.[5]

Arife Kadriye died of tuberculosis on 5 April 1933 at the age of thirty eight in Nice, and was buried there.[1][2][9] Before her death, Arife requested Rosa that after her death she would marry her husband, so her children won't be deprived of their mother's love, and then respecting her last will, Rosa married Mehmed Raşid. The family then settled in Switzerland.[5]

• Bardakçı, Murat (2017). Neslishah: The Last Ottoman Princess. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-9-774-16837-6.
• Kırpık, Cevdet (2011). "Şehzade Evliliklerinde Değişim". OTAM (in Turkish) (26): 165–192.