Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir Efendi (; 16 January 1878 – 16 March 1944) was an Ottoman prince,ŞehzadeMehmedAbdü the son of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and his consort Bidar Kadın.
Early life
Şehzade Mehmed Abdülkadir was born on 16 January 1878 in the Yıldız Palace. His father was Sultan Abdul Hamid II, son of Sultan Abdulmejid I and Tirimüjgan Kadın. His mother was Bidar Kadın, paternal Circassian and maternal Georgian belonged to Lortkipanidze family. He was the second child of his mother. He had a sister Naime Sultan two years elder than him.
Abdülkadir's circumcision took place in 1891, together with his younger half-brothers, Şehzade Ahmed Nuri, and Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin.
Education and career
His early education took place in the Prince's School, Yıldız Palace, together with his elder brother, Şehzade Mehmed Selim, and Sultan Abdulaziz's second son, Abdulmejid II. His tutor was Halil Agha. He spoke several languages, and was a pianist and a violinist, and kemenche player. He was taught to play the violin by violinist Vondra Bey, and his classical music teacher was Aranda Pasha.
After graduating from the Prince's School, he was sent to Germany for his military education. He held the rank of major of cavalry regiment in the imperial Ottoman army. He was then promoted to colonel, and later to brigadier.
Personal life
When Abdülkadir came of age, his father arranged his marriage to Emine Sultan, daughter of Sultan Abdulaziz and Neşerek Kadın. However, Emine abominated this decision and repudiated it as she didn't wanted to marry a man younger than her, although the Sultan considered this pertinent. The engagement was annulated by Mehmed V after Abdülhamid'II deposition.
Abdülkadir's first consort was Mislimelek Hanım. She was born in 1883. Her real name was Pakize Marshania. Her father was Prince Abdülkadir Hasan Bey Marshania (1862–1917), an Abkhazian Officer in the Imperial Ottoman Army, whose family had migrated from the Caucasus, and her mother was Mevlüde Hanım. In 1890, aged seven, she was given to the palace, in order to become companion of her cousin Nemika Sultan. She married Abdülkadir on 10 June 1898. The marriage was performed by the Sultan's Senior Imam, Hafız Raşid Efendi and witnessed by Cevher Ağa, Esvabcıbaşı İsmet Bey, Imam of Sinan Paşa Mosque, Mustafa Asım Efendi, and the imperial harem departure manager, Ali Rıza Efendi. The wedding took place on 21 June 1898. She was the mother of Şehzade Ahmed Orhan who died in 1901. At the exile of the imperial family in 1924, Mislimelek went to Hungary, then in 1933 to Bulgaria and later to Albania in 1943, where she was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp between 1944 and 1945. At the end of World War II, she went to Beirut in 1946. She penned her memoirs in 1950s, and died in Tripoli in 1955.
His second consort was Suhendan Hanım. She was born in 1882. She was an Abkhazian from Tokat. They married in 1902. She didn't have any children. They divorced in 1908. She died in 1929. His third consort was Mihriban Hanım. She was born in 1890. She was an Abkhazian born in Kayalar Memduhiye neighbourhood of Adapazarı. She had one brother. She was a slender, and beautiful woman, and had blonde hair. They married in 1907. She was the mother of Șehzade Mehmed Orhan, born in 1909. After the two divorced in 1913, she went to live with her brother. She died in Egypt between 1955 and 1956. His fourth consort was Pervin Hanım. She was born in 1880. They married in 1908 and divorced the same year. She died in 1917.
His fifth consort was Hatice Macide Hanım. She was born in 1899. She was the daughter of Mustafa Şerif Bey, Colonel in the Imperial Ottoman Army. In 1913, Abdülkadir showed his intentions to marry Macide. However, the parliament rejected the match on the basis of her family's social status. The prince married Macide Hanım despite the refusal. As a result, Abdülkadir and Macide were deprived of their status. Abdülkadir's salary was halved, and the children born of this marriage were deprived from titles and inheritance. She was the mother of Şehzade Ertuğrul Necib, born in 1914, and Şehzade Alaeddin Kadir, born in 1917. At the exile of the imperial family, Macide went to Hungary, where the couple divorced in 1925. She died in Vienna, Austria, in 1934.