Suleima As-Senussi

### Relatives

Muhammad Idris bin Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi (Adoptive Father) †Fatimah as-Senussi (Adoptive Mother)

### Affiliation

French Algeria (1946-1956)United Kingdom of Libya (1956-1969)

Arab Kingdom of Libya (1969-)

### Occupation

Street MerchantPrincess of Libya (1956-)

Crown Princess of Libya (1958-1969)

Queen of Libya (1969-)

## Appearances

### Debut

IRP Season 11: Endsieg

**Princess Suleima as-Senussi** is a Libyan princess, and adopted daughter of Idris I and Queen Fatimah of the United Kingdom of Libya. Born in a small Algerian town to poor parents, she was not set to accomplish much. However, when her town was destroyed by French colonial troops in 1956, her parents killed, she was taken in by the Libyan royal family. In 1958, the Libyan law of succession was revised, making her the crown princess, and heir apparent to Idris' throne. In 1969, following Idris' death, she ascended to the throne as Queen.

## Early Life

### The Street Merchant

Suleima as-Senussi was born Suleima al-Sylla on April 10, 1946 in the village of Tolga, in French Algeria. Her father and mother, who's names are lost to history, were impoverished street merchants. Suleima had approximately 15 siblings, though how many managed to survive infancy is unknown given the horrid living conditions of the time and location. Suleima would personally talk extremely little of her personal life and family, preferring to keep it very private, as was her typical nature.

Suleima lived this life for ten years, even becoming a merchant herself, trying to make even a meager amount of money for her struggling family. Then on August 19, 1956, Berber/Amazigh freedom fighters bombed the bazaar in Tolga where her parents and some of her older siblings were working. The bombings killed hundreds, including Suleima's family and parents. This left the ten year old girl orphaned in the increasingly dangerous world of Tolga, and French Algeria as a whole. However, this incident caught the eye of King Idris as-Senussi of neighboring Libya. He sent men to Tolga, and brought the little girl back to Tripoli. For reasons unknown, he and his wife, Queen Fatimah, opted to adopt Suleima, but not any of her siblings.

### The Libyan Princess

Suleima was immediately enveloped by endless luxury, much of which she could not yet appreciate, as she could not yet appreciate its value. She was to be given an education in the ways of Arab culture, language, and history. She was given the title of 'princess'. All this luxury, all these titles, she did not like them. While Idris and Fatimah would adopt and foster many more children, Suleima was the favored one. As Idris got older, the chance of him establishing an heir became less likely. So, in 1958, a call had to be made. Despite being adopted, Idris by royal decree opted to change the succession laws, making twelve year old Suleima his heir apparent. There was much backlash across the country for the decision, though Suleima herself hid her own distaste for the decision.

Despite this she continued her schooling with some of the finest Western tutors, in which she generally excelled, and many of her scholars and tutors predicted she would be a fine leader. She did however, support efforts to diversify the economy, grow industry, and improve the lives of average Libyans, who often suffered like she had for so long. However, she soon became far more tangled up in regional affairs than previously desired.

She was captured by noble rebels in 1962 when the country briefly fell into civil war. The nobles threatened to kill the princess should Idris not abdicate his throne. Unfortunately for them, it took only sixteen days for their uprising to be crushed by the Royal Army and Suleima was reunited with her foster family.

#### Engagement to the Hashemite King

When Suleima was fifteen, she was informed by Idris that within a year or so, she would be marrying the Hashemite king of Jordan, Hussein, who was 26. Suleima, to be very frank, was not pleased, and already disliked the king for a number of reasons, and this only further soured her opinion. Luckily shortly after the engagement was announced, the Third Arab-Israeli War (1962-66) broke out, in which Jordan swiftly sued for peace. While this was unlucky for Jordan and Hussein, it was lucky for Israel - and by extension - Suleima. She was able to use this event, to convince Idris to disable the engagement, and not have her marry Hussein.