Editing Murad V (section)

=== Crown prince ===
[[File:Sultan Murad V Khan 1867-1.2R V02-1.1.jpg|thumb|180px|left|Crown Prince Murâd during his uncle's visit to Europe, Balmoral Castle, July 13, 1867 (photograph: [[W. & D. Downey]]).]]
After Abdulaziz ascended the throne after the death of Sultan Abdulmejid in 1861, Murad became the heir to the throne. He spent most of his time at his farmhouse in Kurbağalıdere which Abdulaziz had allocated to him. His family used to spend their winters in the crown prince's apartments located in the Dolmabahçe Palace and the Nisbetiye Mansion.{{sfn|Satı|2020|p=17}}{{sfn|Sakaoğlu|2015|p=441}}

He participated in the visits of Abdulaziz to Egypt in 1863 and to Europe in 1867. While he was appreciated by the European rulers for his kindness, his uncle, who was uncomfortable with this, had planned to send him back to Istanbul. [[Napoleon III]] and [[Queen Victoria]] showed greater interest in Murad than in Abdulaziz. Moreover, special invitations and excursions were organized for the crown prince.{{sfn|Sakaoğlu|2015|p=442}}

He frequently communicated with the New Ottomans, who wanted a constitutional regime. Şinasi, whom he met frequently, exchanged ideas with [[Namık Kemal]] and [[Ziya Pasha]] on constitutionalism, democracy and freedom. Through Ziya Pasha and his private physician Kapoleon Efendi, he also communicated with [[Midhat Pasha]], the leading statesman of the [[Tanzimat]] era and leader of the [[Young Ottomans]], which was dissatisfied with Sultan Abdulaziz's rule.<ref name="Murad">{{TDV Encyclopedia of Islam|title=Murad V| url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/murad-v|last=Küçük|first=Cevdet|volume=31|pages=183–185}}</ref>

Murad was the first member of the Ottoman dynasty to become a member of [[Freemasonry in Turkey|the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Turkey]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Hür ve Kabul Edilmiş Masonlar Büyük Locası Derneği|date=13 April 2014|url=http://162.243.49.51/web/03_turkiye.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413150805/http://162.243.49.51/web/03_turkiye.html|archive-date=13 April 2014| url-status=dead|language=tr|access-date=31 January 2021}}</ref> On 20 October 1872,{{sfn|Satı|2020|p=41}} Murad was secretly inducted into the lodge, sponsored by his chamberlain Seyyid Bey. Murad rose through the ranks in the lodge. At one point he proposed establishing an independent Ottoman lodge to be named Envar-ı Şarkiye, "Eastern Lights", with its ritual conducted in Turkish, but the plan was never realized.{{sfn|Brookes|2010|p=69 n. 44}}

==== Succession question ====
Sultan Abdulaziz tried to change the succession system in favor of his own son [[Şehzade Yusuf Izzeddin]].<ref name="́gostonMasters2010">{{cite book|author1=Ga ́bor A ́goston|author2=Bruce Alan Masters|title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire|date= 2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-1025-7|page=404}}</ref> For this purpose Abdulaziz set out to mollify different pressure groups and have his son gain popularity among them. During the 1867 visit to Europe, rumors spread that contrary to the rules of protocol Abdulaziz arranged Izzeddin's reception in Paris and London before the official heir, Prince Murad. When the conservative [[Mahmud Nedim Pasha]] became the [[grand vizier]] in September 1871, he lent his support to Abdulaziz's plans.{{sfn|Zachs|Weismann|2005|p=41}} To further legitimize his plans, Abdulaziz tactically supported a change to primogeniture in the [[Muhammad Ali dynasty]] of Egypt. By granting primogeniture to [[Isma'il Pasha]] in 1866, Abdulaziz was clearly seeking to create a positive climate of opinion about a change in favour of his own son.{{sfn|Zachs|Weismann|2005|p=43}}