Rising nationalist sentiment in Egypt and Sudan, and British concern following Fascist Italy's recent invasion of Abyssinia led to the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, which required the United Kingdom to withdraw all troops from Egypt proper (excluding Sudan), except in the Suez Canal Zone (agreed to be evacuated by 1949), but permitted the return of British military personnel in the event of war.

In 1914, Khedive Abbas II sided with the Ottoman Empire and the Central Powers in the First World War, and was promptly deposed by the British in favour of his uncle Hussein Kamel, creating the Sultanate of Egypt.

[citation needed] As a result, Curzon agreed to receive an Egyptian mission headed by Zaghlul and Adli Pasha to discuss the proposals.

In February 1921, the British Parliament approved the agreement and Egypt was asked to send another mission to London with full powers to conclude a definitive treaty.

However, the Dominion delegates at the 1921 Imperial Conference had stressed the importance of maintaining control over the Suez Canal Zone and Curzon could not persuade his Cabinet colleagues to agree to any terms that Adli Pasha was prepared to accept.

British influence, however, continued to dominate Egypt's political life and fostered fiscal, administrative, and governmental reforms.

London's highest priority was control of the Eastern Mediterranean, especially keeping the Suez Canal open for merchant ships and for military connections with India and Australia.

When the war began in September 1939, Egypt declared martial law and broke off diplomatic relations with Germany.

On the night of 4 February 1942, British troops and tanks surrounded Abdeen Palace in Cairo and Lampson presented Farouk with an ultimatum.

The 1950 election saw a landslide victory of the nationalist Wafd Party and the King was forced to appoint Mostafa El-Nahas as the new Prime Minister.

In 1951 Egypt unilaterally withdrew from the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936 and ordered all remaining British troops to leave the Suez Canal.

According to the BBC, 'In October 1951 a tense stand-off between the British and Egyptian governments broke down over the number of UK troops stationed in the country.

In response, on 25 January, General George Erskine sent British tanks and infantry to surround the auxiliary police station in Ismailia and gave the policemen an hour to surrender their arms in the grounds.

The police commander called the Interior Minister, Fouad Serageddin, Nahas's right-hand man, who was smoking cigars in his bath at the time, to ask if he should surrender or fight.

Farouk blamed the Wafd for the Black Saturday riot, and dismissed Nahas as prime minister the next day and replaced by Aly Maher Pasha.

On 23 July 1952, the Free Officers Movement, led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, toppled King Farouk in a coup d'état that began the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.

Following precedent for a sovereign under the age of majority, a Regency Council was formed, led by Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim.

Popular expectations for immediate reforms led to the workers' riots in Kafr Dawar on 12 August 1952, which resulted in two death sentences.

Following a brief experiment with civilian rule, the Free Officers abolished the monarchy, and declared Egypt a republic on 18 June 1953, abrogating the constitution of 1923.

After the Suez Crisis of 1956, more than 1,000 of 18,000 people who carried British or French nationality were expelled and were only allowed to take one suitcase with them and a small sum of cash.