San Francisco Frontiers - Deposed king's grandson makes low-key return to Egypt

The 46-year-old businessman told AFP he was delighted to be in the "regained homeland" his family had left when a 1952 military coup ended more than a century of monarchy, bringing Gamal Abdel Nasser to power.

"For some Egyptians, my return represents a form of historical reconciliation" between "royalist and republican Egypt", said the heir apparent to the defunct monarchy, stressing that he harbours no political ambitions.

After spending most of his life in France, he has made a quiet return to Cairo, encouraged by his wife, princess Noal Zaher of Afghanistan's deposed royal family.

But despite being born in Cairo, Muhammad Ali had to wait for years before he was finally able to secure an Egyptian passport in 2020.

His father, Fuad II, Egypt's last king, was determined that his son be born on Egyptian soil, even though the royal family had been banished.

"It was my father's ardent wish," he said.

Behind-the-scenes diplomacy and personal intervention by Morocco's king at the time had convinced Egyptian president Anwar Sadat to grant an exception, allowing the deposed queen Fadila to give birth in Cairo -- alone and in utmost discretion.

"I became the first male member of the direct branch of the royal family to return to Egypt," he recounted with a laugh.

- 'Shattered destiny' -

Muhammad Ali was issued no proof of nationality at birth -- a fact he only discovered when he wanted to register his twin children, Fuad and Farah-Noor.

"It was a shock when the Egyptian employee told me that I was not Egyptian and that I would have to prove that my father was," he said.

"He was the king, but apparently, that was not enough."

Though Fuad II had briefly been king as an infant -- ascending the throne at just seven months old before the monarchy was finally abolished in July 1953 -- he had no formal birth certificate proving his Egyptian nationality.

Decades later, as Egypt has gradually shunned the Nasser-era vilification of the former monarchy, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi granted Fuad II a diplomatic passport in 2014 listing his profession as the "former king of Egypt".

"My father had a shattered destiny," said Muhammad Ali.

"Born a child king, he lost his kingdom and his throne. For him, Egypt was a lost homeland -- for me, it is a regained homeland."

By birth, Muhammad Ali holds French citizenship through his mother Fadila, born Dominique-France Loeb-Picard.

The family was also granted Monegasque nationality by Monaco's Prince Rainier III after they had been left stateless following the 1952 revolution, which had ushered in an era of republican pan-Arabism.

- Royal past revisited -

In recent years, young Egyptians disconnected from the revolutionary fervour of the 1950s have become more aware of the country's royal past.

Television dramas, historical documentaries and online discussions have fuelled a more nuanced and sometimes nostalgic view of the ousted monarchy.

Sisi's government has also acknowledged the historical role of the royal dynasty -- something that had previously been erased from public discourse, with the expection of its glorified founder Muhammad Ali Pasha.

Returning to Egypt was always "a dream" for his family, said Muhammad Ali, who runs a real estate consulting firm in Paris.

As remote work became more feasible, he said his wife "convinced me that it was time to take the leap".

"It was Noal who supported me and even pushed me," he said.

"She wanted to live in the east and for our children to grow up as close as possible to their roots."

Now in Cairo, alongside improving his Arabic, "I simply want to work on preserving and passing down the historical, cultural and artistic heritage of the Egyptian royal family," said Muhammad Ali.

"After all, it's 150 years of history that deserves to be honoured."

G.Allen--SFF