Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin

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Şehzade Mehmed Seyfeddin (22 September 1874 – 19 October 1927) was an Ottoman prince, the son of Sultan Abdulaziz and Gevheri Kadın. He was born at Çırağan Palace in Constantinople and was Abdulaziz’s youngest son. After Abdulaziz was deposed in 1876 and died soon after, Seyfeddin grew up in the imperial palaces and showed a talent for music and the arts.

He was educated in Istanbul, learning painting, poetry and music. He studied under renowned teachers and became a noted composer and organist. He owned several homes, including a villa in Saudiye and a Camlıça mansion he bought in 1894, spending summers in Saudiye and winters in the Feriye Palace. He also helped light the minarets with mahya during Ramadan and was known for painting and sculpture.

Seyfeddin married four times. His wives were Neşefelek Hanım (mother of Şehzade Mehmed Abdulaziz), Nervaliter Hanım (mother of Mahmud Şevket, Ahmed Tevhid and Gevheri Sultan), Makbule Hanım, and Muruvverid Hanım. He had several children: Mehmed Abdulaziz, Mahmud Şevket, Ahmed Tevhid and Gevheri Sultan (his daughter, who became a noted musician).

In the navy, he rose to honorary captain in 1916, then to rear-admiral in 1918, and later to vice-admiral. After World War I, he helped with delegations to Anatolia and Thrace in 1919 and donated about 60,000 kuruş to the Naval Society. He even traveled to Vienna and Karlsbad in 1918 for health.

With the exile of the Ottoman family in 1924, Seyfeddin and his family moved to Cimiez, Nice, France. He died there on 19 October 1927 at age 53 and was buried in the Cemetery of the Sulaymaniyya Takiyya in Damascus, Syria.