Abbas II (full name: Abbas Hilmy), the great-great-grandson of Muhammad Ali, was born in Alexandria, Egypt on 14 July 1874. In 1887 he was ceremonially circumcised together with his younger brother Mohammed Ali Tewfik. The festivities lasted for three weeks and were carried out with great pomp. As a boy he visited the United Kingdom, and he had a number of British tutors in Cairo including a governess who taught him English. In a profile of Abbas II, the boys' annual, Chums, gave a lengthy account of his education. His father established a small school near the Abdin Palace in Cairo where European, Arab and Ottoman masters taught Abbas and his brother Mohammed Ali Tewfik. An American officer in the Egyptian army took charge of his military training. He attended school at Lausanne, Switzerland; then, at the age of twelve, he was sent to the Haxius School in Geneva, in preparation for his entry into the Theresianum in Vienna. In addition to Arabic and Ottoman Turkish, he had good conversational knowledge of English, French and German.
Abbas II (full name Abbas Hilmy) the great-great-grandson of Muhammad Ali was born in Alexandria Egypt on 14 July 1874 In 1887 he was ceremonially circumcised together with his younger brother Mohammed Ali Tewfik The festivities lasted for three weeks and were carried out with great pomp As a boy he visited the United Kingdom and he had a number of British tutors in Cairo including a governess who taught him English In a profile of Abbas II the boys' annual Chums gave a lengthy account of his education His father established a small school near the Abdin Palace in Cairo where European Arab and Ottoman masters taught Abbas and his brother Mohammed Ali Tewfik An American officer in the Egyptian army took charge of his military training He attended school at Lausanne Switzerland; then at the age of twelve he was sent to the Haxius School in Geneva in preparation for his entry into the Theresianum in Vienna In addition to Arabic and Ottoman Turkish he had good conversational knowledge of English French and German