Under the Muhammad Ali dynasty, the line of succession to the former Egyptian throne was subject to a number of changes during its history. From its founding in 1805 until 1866, the dynasty followed the imperial Ottoman practice of agnatic seniority, whereby the eldest male in any generation would succeed to the throne. In 1866, however, the then Khedive of Egypt Isma'il Pasha obtained a firman from the Ottoman Emperor which restricted the succession to the male-line descendants of Isma'il Pasha. The resulting succession remained in force until the abolition of the Egyptian monarchy in 1953, following the 1952 Egyptian Revolution.
In 1914, however, the British government deposed Khedive Abbas II, the senior descendant of Isma'il, and proclaimed a protectorate over Egypt. His son Muhammad Abdel Moneim lost his place as heir apparent, and the throne passed to the lines of Abbas II's uncles Hussein Kamel and Fuad I. A Royal Edict of 13 April 1922 specifically excluded Abbas II from the succession, though it stated that "this exception shall not apply to his sons and their progeny." As a result, the descendants in the male line from Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim remained eligible for the throne and retained a senior position in the order of precedence of the Kingdom of Egypt.