The Sultan of Egypt, Fuad I first saw Nazli at an opera performance. On 12 May 1919, Fuad proposed to her, although he was 26 years her senior. On 24 May 1919 Nazli married Sultan Fuad I at Bustan Palace, Cairo. It was the second marriage for both Nazli and Fuad. She later moved to the "haramlek" in the Abbasiya Palace. She was under pressure from her husband to produce a son, and was warned that she would be confined to the haremlek if she did not do so.