Turki I bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was the eldest son of Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia. His full siblings were King Saud, Prince Khalid, Prince Fahd, and Princess Munira. He accompanied his father during the conquest of the Arabian Peninsula at a young age, and witnessed battles in Kuwait and al-Hasa. He was married to Nuwair. In 1918 he had a son named Faisal. He died in 1919 in the 1918-1920 flu pandemic, which also killed many others in the region, including his half-brother Saad, who was the younger full-brother of King Faisal and his younger full-brother Prince Fahd.
Early life
Turki al Awwal was the eldest son of Ibn Saud. Turki's birthplace is Kuwait City. He was born in 1900 when his family was in exile there. He was full-brother of King Saud. His full sisters include Munira and Nura. Their mother was Wadhah bint Muhammad bin 'Aqab, who belonged to the Bani Khalid tribe. She was the daughter of the chief of the Bani Khalid tribe, who ruled al-Hasa and was Ibn Saud's second wife.
Activities and succession
Prince Turki was the deputy of his father as commander-in-chief of the army. During his lifetime, Turki al Awwal was the Crown Prince of Najd, his father's domain until then. He was Crown Prince beginning by his father's conquest of Riyadh on 15 January 1902 up to his own early death in 1919. The Saudi custom of succession stipulates that kings be succeeded by their younger brothers, in seniority of age, rather than by their sons. Therefore, at Turki's death, his next brother Saud became crown prince, rather than his son Faisal. Saud later became king and was overthrown by another of his brothers, not by one of his sons.
Personal life
Turki I's first wife gave birth to his son Faisal bin Turki. Years later, Faisal bin Turki became minister of interior in the government of King Saud from 1961 to 1962. Faisal bin Turki died in 1968 in Riyadh, and had a daughter named Sara who married the former governor of Najran province, Mishaal bin Saud. Turki also had a daughter with his other wife Tarfa Al Mhanna, Hes'sa bint Turki, who was the wife of Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz, and they had two sons, Faisal and Turki. Princess Hes'sa died in Riyadh at the age of 91 on 19 August 2007 and was buried in Al Oud cemetery. Two grandsons of Turki I, the children of his son Faisal, have served on the Allegiance Council: Turki bin Faisal, and Abdullah bin Faisal.
Death
Turki al Awwal died in Riyadh during the flu pandemic that killed his mother and many others in the region in 1919. His father was said to be deeply saddened by his death. After the death of Turki, his wife, Noweir bint Obaid Al Rasheed, married his younger brother Saud, and they had a daughter, named Al Anoud bint Saud.
