Little is known about May, who came a long way from being born in a noble family to the status of a princess. The woman never thought that fate would lead her so far. However, life was not always respectful to her. May had to start her life all over again after suffering the same fate as her predecessor. Read more about her story on philadelphianka.
Early years
May Torok was born on June 15, 1877 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. However, she did not spend much time in her native land. Her family had noble Hungarian origin, so they were quite influential. May’s father was Count József Torok von Szendro. The girl did not spend too much time with him. The mother, Countess Sofie Vetter von der Lilie, divorced her first husband when the child was very young. Later, the woman remarried the Hungarian inventor Tivadar Puskás. The man was known for his collaborations and activities. He was a scientist, the inventor of the world’s first automatic telephone exchange and the founder of the Telefon Hirmondó telephone service. Moreover, he worked closely with Thomas Edison. He was often called May’s father, although he was a stepfather. All of Sofie’s children from her previous marriage grew up with him. The girl had an older brother who played an important role in her life. He was born in 1973 and was named Josef Torok von Szendro.
May spent most of her childhood on the Wassen Castle, south of Graz, Austria. Education was available to her, which at that time was not possible for everyone. She was educated at home under the close supervision of teachers. The list of her classes included the study of languages, exact sciences, as well as playing the piano. At the age of 12, she wrote short articles for various magazines. At the age of 15, she already had her own apartment in Graz.
Acquaintance with the future husband
May’s brother, Josef, was enrolled in the famous Viennese Theresianum Academy, according to ancient Austrian tradition. The patrons of this institution were such noble personalities as Habsburg princes, descendants of European, Egyptian, Ottoman and Eastern aristocracy. Among those who became a student was the young Egyptian prince Abbas Hilmi. He turned out to be a year younger than May’s brother. Despite this, they became good friends who were always within the academy. May came to one of the events to see her brother. He introduced her to his friend, Prince Abbas. Perhaps, she even gave him one dance, since the meeting took place at a ball. At that time, the girl was only 14 years old and the boy was already 17. However, despite the age difference, she stunned the shy young man, who was charmed by her beauty. The prince could not even imagine that they could be together, since she was a Hungarian aristocrat and he was the heir to the throne. However, this meeting left a mark in his memory and heart for a long time. Unfortunately, their next meeting did not happen very soon.
On January 7, 1892, Abbas’s father died in his home in Helwan. This news reached the prince, so he abandoned everything and went to the Motherland, to Egypt. There, he took the title of Khedive. Thus, the meeting with May was postponed indefinitely.
Second meeting with future husband
In 1900, May came to Paris to see her brother. On his way to London, Abbas also visited the city. Their meeting was accidental. According to the memories of the woman, she was heading to her hotel from the flower market and her hands were full of roses. At that moment, May almost bumped into an old friend. Despite such a long separation and short acquaintance, they immediately recognize each other. The young Khedive was fascinated by her beauty even more than when they first met. Resisting his feelings for a short time, Abbas started a short but persistent courtship. He showered May with various gifts and was ready to give her the whole world. The passionate romance ended in an offer to visit his homeland.
It is not known whether May knew that during the separation Abbas fell in love with a beautiful Ikbal Hanim. She was taken from her native Crimea when she was young. Later, she became a slave of the mother of the new sultan. Still, her status did not frighten a young prince. He fell in love with Ikbal, which led to an engagement and wedding. In their happy marriage, 4 daughters and 2 sons were born. However, even if the enamored May knew about this secret, she agreed to change her life and go after him to Egypt.
Moving and living in another country
Going after her lover, May arrived in Egypt. She secretly became the wife of Abbas in the Alexandria Palace. Only a few sheikhs were invited and knew about this event. For many years, she was considered a beautiful concubine of the Sultan. The woman waited ten years for her lover to divorce his wife. All this time he led a double life. However, despite May’s ambiguous position, she always tried to accompany Abbas on his trips and official events, which was not accepted. In order not to break any rules, the woman changed into men’s clothes.
While May expected that she would become a legitimate wife, the Khedive settled her in one of the best of his palaces and did not forget to give everything to make her feel loved. At this time, May did not live in seclusion, even when their romance began to be actively gossiped about. The woman led an active lifestyle, unlike other eastern women. She received the wives of foreign diplomats in her palace. Due to the current fashion, she also conducted spiritualistic seances. According to rumors, during one of them, she learned that she was the reincarnation of a Persian sheikh who died 100 years before. One of the members of her court saw this passion and did not support it. This became known to the Khedive and the seances were stopped.
In 1910, the woman finally got what she wanted. Abbas divorced his wife. In the same year, May got married after ten years of waiting. However, the people of Egypt were not satisfied with the choice of their sultan because his wife was a foreigner. The Egyptians considered her a licentious and impudent woman who bewitched the Khedive. Instead, others described her as a beautiful and incredibly charming lady who had a great influence on the often irritable Abbas. May was never baptized, so she was able to convert to Islam, which happened on February 9, 1910. At the same time, she took a new name Javidan and began to study the Koran with the teacher.
A ruined fairy tale
After marrying her lover, May realized that the desire to live happily ever after was just a dream. The relationship between the couple from the moment of legalization of the relationship became cold. The man was no longer interested in her. He was bored without secret meetings and fell in love with another woman. The latter was a young dancer from Paris. Later, she moved to Egypt, like May did before. The once beloved woman could not stand betrayal and the possibility of living with her husband’s mistress. She suffered the same fate as the sultan’s former wife. Therefore, a divorce agreement was concluded in 1913. After that, May left the country that was her home for many years.
Abbas promised to be her financial support for the rest of his life. Thanks to this, May went to Vienna. This time was quite difficult, as the First World War started. However, May managed to open a salon, where she sold cosmetics. At the time when the woman was building a new life from scratch, she was courted by many men who were impressed by her beauty. Still, May was never married again.
After the death of her ex-husband, who was dethroned by his own uncle, May lost the financial support. Therefore, she became a translator to earn a living. All this happened at a rather advanced age, after surviving not only the First World War but also the Second World War.
At the age of 70, the woman took up drawing. In 1959, she even held a personal exhibition. All her paintings were related to Egypt. She was never able to let go of her past life.
The woman died on August 5, 1965 in Graz. May had no children or friends, so there were few people at her funeral. The tombstone only says Janan Javidan. This was a name that was supposed to create a new and happy reality for her. Instead, it destroyed her fairy tale and forced her to search for herself anew and build her life on the ashes of her dreams at the age of 36.