Iraqi monarch King Ghazi ibn Fayṣal, also known as King Ghazi of Iraq, was BOTD in 1912. Born in Mecca (then part of the Ottoman Empire), he was the only son of Fayṣal I, the Sharif and Emir of Mecca and a member of the Hashemite royal dynasty. As a child, his father led a military campaign against the Ottoman Empire, and he was raised by his grandfather Hussein bin Ali. After World War One, Fayṣal was proclaimed King of the newly-formed country of Syria, with Ghazi named as Crown Prince. A few months later, the French invaded Syria and deposed Fayṣal, forcing him and his family into exile. In 1921, Fayṣal became monarch of Iraq, another newly-formed country under British colonial administration. Ghazi was named Crown Prince, though was ill-equipped for public office, described as shy and effeminate. Educated in England, he preferred Western dress and expensive cars, befriending the American travel writer and notorious homosexual Richard Halliburton. In 1932, Fayṣal oversaw Iraq’s independence from Britain and entrance into the League of Nations. The following year, Fayṣal died, and Ghazi was crowned king. He continued his father’s pro-Arab and nationalist policies, openly opposing British interests in Iraq via broadcasts on his own radio station. A tacit supporter of Nazi Germany, he also advocated for the invasion and annexation of Kuwait. He embarked on a programme of political and economic reform, though was unable to manage sectarian in-fighting. In 1938, he supported a military coup to overthrow the civilian government, earning the enmity of Prime Minister Nuri Pasha al-Said. He married his cousin Princess Aliya bint Ali in 1934, with whom he had a son. According to British intelligence reports, Ghazi had sexual relationships with many of his male servants. In 1938, a scandal erupted when one of Ghazi’s serving boys died after “accidentally” discharging a gun, significantly damaging Ghazi’s political reputation. Rumours also circulated that Aliya had arranged for the boy’s murder, concerned that he was “the King’s boon companion in debauchery”. In 1939, Ghazi was killed in a car accident in Baghdad, aged 27, and was succeeded by his cousin Abd al-Ilāh. Historians have theorised variously that Ghazi may have been killed on the orders of al-Said, Aliya or the British government.