The Sultan of Egypt, Fuad I first saw Nazli at an opera performance. On 12 May 1919, Fuad proposed to her, although he was 25 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 confined to the haremlek if she did not do so. After the birth of their only son, Farouk, she was allowed to move into Koubbeh Palace with her husband. When Fuad's title was altered to King, she was given the title of Queen. She then had four daughters: Fawzia, Faiza, Faika, and Fathiya.
Restricted to the palace throughout most of Fuad's reign, she was permitted to attend opera performances, flower shows, and other ladies-only cultural events. As her upbringing had left her remarkably educated, cultured and emancipated for an Egyptian woman of the time, she found this prescribed existence backward and stifling.[7] It was said that whenever the royal couple fought, she was slapped by the king and confined to her suite for weeks. It was also alleged that she tried to commit suicide by overdosing on aspirin.
Nazli accompanied the king during part of his four-month tour of Europe in 1927, and was much fêted in France because of her French ancestry. With the inauguration of Parliament in 1924, she was among the royal attendees at the opening ceremony, seated in a special section of the guest gallery.
Following the death of King Fuad in 1936, her son Farouk became the new King of Egypt, and she became the Queen Mother.