 He held the title of "El-Nabil" (the noble prince, in Arabic), which was also his name at birth.Having been educated in Beirut and England at Leighton Park School, he was a painter and pianist, and was a student and close friend of the expatriate Polish concert pianist Ignaz Tiegerman.Hassan was born in Sanremo, Italy, a great-grandson of the Khedive Ismail and a cousin of King Farouk of Egypt, the country's last king.