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Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief, Prince Turki al-Faisal, who led the kingdom's main foreign intelligence service for more than two decades, has a lesser-known family connection to Türkiye through his mother, Iffat bint Mohammad Al-Thunayan, who was born and raised in Istanbul before marrying the future Saudi King Faisal.
Prince Turki, born in Mecca in 1945, headed Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Directorate from 1977 until 2001 and subsequently served as the kingdom's ambassador to the United Kingdom and the United States. His mother's background, however, traces part of the Saudi royal family's history back to the final years of the Ottoman Empire.
Born in Istanbul in 1916, Iffat belonged to the Al-Thunayan branch of the Al-Saud family, whose members had settled in Ottoman territories during the 19th century.
Her father, Mohammad Al-Thunayan, served in the Ottoman army as a physician and died during military service, leaving the family facing financial difficulties.
Iffat grew up in Istanbul, where she attended school and eventually received training as a teacher. Her upbringing took place during a period of major political transformation, spanning the final years of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the Turkish Republic.
Her family later sought assistance from their relatives in Saudi Arabia, setting the stage for a journey that would bring her into contact with the kingdom's future monarch.
In 1932, Iffat traveled to Saudi Arabia with her aunt to perform the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. During the visit, she met Prince Faisal, the son of Saudi Arabia's founding monarch, King Abdulaziz.
According to an account attributed to their son, Prince Turki, Faisal developed an immediate interest in Iffat, and the couple married shortly afterward.
At the time, Iffat reportedly spoke no Arabic, while Faisal did not speak Turkish. They initially communicated through an interpreter before Iffat learned Arabic and Faisal picked up Turkish.
The marriage brought an Istanbul-educated woman into the Saudi royal household, where she later became closely associated with educational and social reforms.
Among Iffat and Faisal's children was Prince Turki al-Faisal, who went on to become one of Saudi Arabia's most prominent intelligence and diplomatic figures.
After joining the royal court as an adviser in 1973, Turki took over the General Intelligence Directorate in 1977, overseeing the kingdom's main foreign intelligence service until 2001.
He subsequently represented Saudi Arabia as ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland from 2002 to 2005, before serving as ambassador to the United States until 2007.
Prince Turki later became chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, maintaining a public role in research and international affairs.
Iffat also played an important role in Saudi Arabia's educational development, particularly through her support for girls' education and broader social reforms.
Her teacher training in Istanbul preceded her involvement in educational initiatives alongside King Faisal, and she continued supporting education after his death.
Known widely as Queen Iffat, she became one of the most prominent women in the kingdom's modern history, while her Istanbul upbringing remained a distinctive part of her family's background.
Her life also left behind a documentary connection to Türkiye, including an identity card written in Ottoman Turkish that records personal details from her early years.
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