Into the life of history’s most famous “Pickpocket King”, Farouk I
Story by Okafor Vivian
Farouk I, the exiled king of Egypt, takes a walk by the pool in Italy, 1953. He earned the nickname the “Pickpocket King” because of his notorious habit of stealing from other rulers and dignitaries.
One famous incident involved him taking Winston Churchill’s pocket watch. Farouk was widely recognised as a kleptomaniac, targeting valuables from various royals during his reign.
After being overthrown in the 1952 Egyptian Revolution and going into exile, authorities discovered among his possessions what was at the time considered the world’s largest private collection of adult material, reflecting his extravagant and indulgent lifestyle.
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One of his mistresses, Birgitta Stenberg, recalled that Farouk’s jokes were often painfully unfunny, including lines like, “Have you heard what one palm tree said to the other? Let’s make a date.”
On being intimate with him, she had this to say: “I’m doing this with the king of twenty million people. This nice fat man was one of the world’s symbols of power.” Stenberg found him to be physically aggressive, but in common with his other mistresses, complained about his abnormally small manhood.
She eventually grew tired of the relationship and ended the affair, even after he gave her an expensive diamond bracelet. When she told him, “I’ll miss you and life with you,” Farouk responded sadly, “Do you think it’s something to miss,” leaving Stenberg unsure how to reply.
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