المملكة: Rare photos…an exhibition of British Princess Alice during her visit to Saudi Arabia in 1938 AD

She is the first person from the British or European royal family to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the era of the founder, King Abdulaziz – may God rest his soul – where they were honored to meet him and members of the royal family.

Princess Alice’s journey in Saudi Arabia

The exhibition, which was launched at the Royal Geographical Society in London, will be held on the sixteenth of October and will continue until the fourteenth of next November.

In a speech by His Excellency the General Supervisor of the King Abdulaziz Public Library, Faisal bin Abdulrahman bin Muammar, he mentioned that the Arabian Peninsula was, and still is, a center of attraction for researchers and travelers from the East and West, with its cultural specificity, strategic location, close connection to the history of Islam, and its embrace of the Two Holy Mosques.

These factors constituted a strong motivation for travelers and orientalists to bother traveling there, driven by a passion for knowledge, political competition, and a desire to understand Arab societies from the inside.

Study of the conditions of the Arabian Peninsula

These travelers left a very important literary and documentary legacy, the objectivity of which varies, but it remains a rich source for studying the conditions of the Arabian Peninsula politically, economically, and socially.
/>
Among the most prominent of them: Princess Alice, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, in 1938 AD, who undertook a rare exploratory and historical trip on the cusp of establishing the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, accompanied by her husband, the Earl of Athlone, and her brother, Lord Frederick Cambridge.

She was received in Jeddah by Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz, and was honored to meet King Abdulaziz Al Saud, who hosted a banquet in her honor; Thus, she would be the first princess from the British and European royal family to set foot on the island at a pivotal moment in its history.

324 rare photos

Ibn Muammar added: The trip extended from the west of the Kingdom to its east, passing through Taif, Riyadh, Al-Ahsa, and Al-Uqair, and ended with a visit to the oil wells in Dammam, then Bahrain.

Despite the difficulties of the road, the princess expressed great admiration for the beauty of nature, and she wrote down her trip in A photographic diary, during which I took more than 324 rare photographs, some of which are considered among the first color photographs in the Kingdom, in addition to a videotape that is considered one of the oldest known television photographs of Saudi Arabia.

Princess Alice’s journey is a living witness to the depth of the historical relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, which began with the 1915 treaty, developed into diplomatic relations in 1927, and then grew on various political, economic and cultural levels, based on mutual respect and interests. Shared.

Rare Photographs

The King Abdulaziz Public Library has issued a special collection of photographs of Princess Alice, to celebrate the multiple Saudi royal visits to the United Kingdom. Emphasizing the depth of relations and cultural exchange between the two countries.

It is worth noting that the exhibition includes rare photographs in two colors: black and white, including some photos that are believed to be the first color photos ever taken in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, one of these photos, which brought together King Abdul Aziz with the husband of the British princess and in which Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz and Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz appeared, may be the first color photo of King Abdulaziz.

The group of photos taken by the lens also reflects Princess Alice, the stages of the journey from the west of the Kingdom – where their visit required them to cross the Arabian Peninsula – to its east, passing through Taif, where they headed with a convoy of cars, and passed by Well Ashira and Al-Dawadmi, where they settled in the Royal Hospitality Palace in Al-Badi’ah on the western bank of Wadi Hanifa. They also visited Riyadh and then (Diriyah).

Exploration Trips

The team’s convoy continued its journey from Riyadh towards the eastern coast of the Kingdom on the Arabian Gulf, They stopped in Al-Ahsa, Al-Uqair, then Dammam, and from there they sailed to the Kingdom of Bahrain, before boarding the plane to depart for Cairo again, and then returning to their homeland.

Her Highness the Princess documented her trip to Saudi Arabia, which lasted approximately three weeks, and photographed many of its events with rare, never before published photos, in addition to a cinematic film.. She wrote her memoirs about the trip in the form of letters addressed to her daughter.

It is worth noting that the library owns the original collection of photographs of Princess Alice during her visit to the Kingdom, which includes (324) rare photographs.