Assortment of rare 1938 photos from a British princess’s visit to Saudi Arabia on display
As-salamu alaykum. An exhibition in London is showing a unique set of historical photos taken by Princess Alice, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, during her 1938 visit with her husband, Alexander Cambridge, to meet King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia.
On that three-week journey, Princess Alice captured the Kingdom’s landscapes and everyday life in a collection of 324 photographs, including some of the earliest color images made in the country. The show opened Oct. 16 and runs until Nov. 14 at the Royal Geographical Society, presented with support from the Saudi Embassy in the UK and the King Abdulaziz Public Library.
Faisal bin Muaammar, general supervisor at the King Abdulaziz Public Library, noted that the display highlights the Kingdom’s lasting draw for scholars and travelers because of its distinctive cultural heritage, strategic place, and its role as custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
Princess Alice was reportedly the first British royal to visit Saudi Arabia and the only one to meet the country’s founder, King Abdulaziz. She arrived in Jeddah aboard the HMS Enterprise on Feb. 25 and was greeted by the future King Faisal, then a prince. Recalling her meeting with King Abdulaziz, she described him as “a huge man, a great gentleman with a most engaging manner.”
She toured major cities including Makkah, Riyadh and Jeddah, visited Al-Ahsa and ended in Al Khobar. While in the Eastern Province she went to the Dammam No. 7 oil well on March 17 - the site where oil was first found in commercial quantities and production had started a few weeks earlier.
Princess Alice reportedly left the Kingdom “with many regrets at the conclusion of a lovely and interesting journey.”
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