Egyptian Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived in peace and harmony in the former’s reign which was characterised by significant advancements in infrastructure as well as the economy, alongside reforms in education and the establishment of universal health care. Furthermore, King Farouk secured Egypt’s full independence from Britain, brought the country into the League of Nations – forerunner of the United Nations, and played a central role in creating the Arab League in 1945 at the end of WWII: promoting unity among Arab nations.

BY ALAN NAZAR IPEKIAN

EGYPT
My namesake, Muhammad Ali Pasha (1769–1849), established control over both Egypt and Sudan in the 19th century, a domination that endured until the military coup of 1952 which toppled my grandfather, HM King Farouk (1920–1965) – pictured opposite with my father, HM King Fouad II. I’m grateful that, at the behest of my father, then Egyptian President Anwar Sadat allowed my mother to give birth in Cairo – making me the first male heir in the direct line of succession to return to the country after the military coup of 1952.

Now, in moving to Egypt, my wife and I hope to root our children firmly in their ancestral home: to benefit from both an Egyptian as well as a French education, and gain a better understanding of their countrymen, past and present.

PATERFAMILIAS
At the wedding in Istanbul of Prince Rudolf of Liechtenstein and his Turkish born wife – Tılsım Tanberk, a relation of mine – I met my future bride, Princess Noal: granddaughter of the late and last King Zaher Shah of Afghanistan (1914–2007). We too married in Istanbul in the presence of Royal Families from both Orient and Occident, and were blessed with twins: a son and heir, Fouad Zaher Hassan, named after his illustrious ancestors as well as King Hassan II of Morocco, whom I hold in high esteem; and a daughter, Farah-Noor or Joy and Light.

PARIS
With a long historical as well familial connection to France – having also studied in Paris – as newlyweds my wife and I settled in the 6th arrondissement, just a few steps from Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Luxembourg Garden. When our twins arrived, we moved to the 16th, near the Bois de Boulogne, the Eiffel Tower, and the Champs-Élysées.

GSTAAD
Like my father and uncle before me, I’m an ancient Roséen; and delighted that a solution might allow Le Rosey to stay in Gstaad with the new campus project. Gstaad without Le Rosey wouldn’t be the same, and Le Rosey without Gstaad would be incomplete.

WINTER
My favoured season in Gstaad: I gather here with my immediate family, including my father who lives outside Geneva, to see and ski with friends.

SUMMER
In summer, my wife, children, and I visit my father outside Geneva, my wife’s family in Rome’s Via Cassia, and spend time on the Mediterranean’s at El Sahel El Shamally, adjacent to Alexandria, Egypt.

MONACO
Thanks only to HSH The Late Sovereign Prince Rainier III of Monaco (1923–2005), all my immediate family in exile are honoured to be citizens of Monaco. Both my brother, HRH Prince Fakhr-Eddine, and my sister, HRH Princess Fawzia, are fortunate to live and work in the principality.

VERSAILLES FOUNDATION
A non-profit which supports both the Château as well as the Claude Monet museum, Giverny, was the brainchild in 1970 of Gstaad habituée and American philanthropist, Mrs Florence Van der Kemp, wife of the Château’s chief curator. On Thursday 4 May 2023 at New York’s University Club, I was invited by Barbara de Portago to address the annual benefit dinner on my family’s historical and cultural heritage both in Egypt and elsewhere.

ASCHIANA FOUNDATION
In 2001, when her grandfather, the last King of Afghanistan, Zaher Shah (1914–2007), returned to the country he once ruled, my wife joined him and stayed for several years. There, she began her involvement with the ASCHIANA Foundation, an ONG dedicated to children. Even after her grand father’s death, she continued to go to Afghanistan and to support the foundation. But with the Taliban’s rise to power, returning has proven difficult. Despite this, she continues to support ASCHIANA by raising funds and raising public awareness. For example, and most recently, at the Gstaad New Year Music Festival where she organised a charity auction in favour of the foundation. The present cover photograph was taken at the Palace during that event.

HRH THE CROWN PRINCE OF EGYPT

Eldest son of HM King Fuad II, and like his father an ancien Roséen as well as a Gstaad habitué, Mohamed Ali was born in Cairo and now resides there with his wife and twin children. Longtime a real estate professional in Paris – after studying business in the city – he now hopes to safeguard his family’s historical and cultural heritage both in Egypt and elsewhere: bridging the nation’s royal past with the republic of the present.

EgyptRoyal.org

HRH THE CROWN PRINCESS OF EGYPT, PRINCESS OF AFGHANISTAN

Granddaughter of the late and last King of Afghanistan, Zaher Shah (1914–2007), Noal was born in Tehran on the eve of the Islamic Revolution which toppled the last Shah of Iran. Soon thereafter in Rome, she would find refuge with her grandfather, and was educated there at a French Convent School, later graduating with a Master’s in business in London. Fluent in English, Farsi, French as well as Italian, she’s now learning Arabic.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

GILBERT SINOUE

LE DERNIER PHARAON (2000)
In French Only

MELEKPER TOUSSOUN

EFFENDINA (2023)
In English only

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN CIVILISATION, CAIRO

Founding Member of the Friends of NMEC, with a seat on the Friends of NMEC Board of Directors, responsible for international relations. Egyptian conservators, mostly women, now work there tirelessly when prior only Westerns possessed this specialised knowledge.

NMEC.gov.eg