Fuad II of Egypt

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox royalty Template:Infobox royal styles Fuad II (Template:Langx, full name: Ahmed Fuad bin Farouk bin Ahmed Fuad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad Ali; born 16 January 1952), or alternatively Ahmed Fuad II (Template:Langx), is a member of the Egyptian Muhammad Ali dynasty. As an infant, he formally reigned as the last King of Egypt and the Sudan from July 1952 to June 1953, when he was deposed.

Birth and reignEdit

File:Farouk nariman10.jpg

King Farouk and Queen Narriman with Prince Fuad, January 1952

The son of King Farouk and his second wife Queen Narriman, Crown Prince Ahmed FuadTemplate:Efn was born on 16 January 1952 in Abdeen Palace.Template:Citation needed He was delivered at 8:30Template:Nbspa.m. and named after his grandfather Fuad I.<ref name="FaroukHeir">Template:Cite news</ref> Fuad had three half-sisters from Farouk's previous marriage with Queen Farida: princesses Farial, Fawzia and Fadia. As women could not inherit the Egyptian throne, Farouk's first cousin, Prince Mohammed Ali Tewfik, was heir presumptive until Fuad's birth.<ref name="FaroukHeir" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Immediately following his birth, Fuad was granted the title of Prince of the Sa'id.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He was styled accordingly as Ahmed Fuad, Prince of the Sa'id.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 23 July 1952, the Free Officers led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser started the beginning the Egyptian revolution to dispose the Muhammad Ali non-Egyptian dynasty.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> On 26 July, Farouk was ordered to abdicate in favour of the crown prince and leave Egypt.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Farouk abdicated and went into exile in Italy. His family, including Fuad, joined him in exile.<ref name=":10" /> By stepping down, Farouk had wished that the forces opposing the monarchy would be placated, and that Fuad could unify the country during his reign.<ref name="Rosten2015" />Template:Rp

RegencyEdit

On Farouk's abdication, the army proclaimed that Fuad was now King Fuad II of Egypt and the Sudan, at only 6 months of age.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn The country was now ruled by Nasser, Naguib and the other Free Officers.<ref name=":0" /> Naguib promised to maintain a constitutional monarchy with a regency council holding power until Fuad came of age.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Fuad's constitutional powers were assumed by the Cabinet until 2 August 1952, when a regency body, but not a council, was established.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim was appointed regent and led the body.<ref name="Rosten2015" />Template:Rp The regency body had no actual powers, however, these having been effectively assumed by the Revolutionary Command Council which was led by Naguib. The body was dissolved on 7 September 1952 and Moneim was appointed the sole prince regent, though he still had no actual powers when serving in this role.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Rosten2015" />Template:Rp

The monarchy was formally abolished on 18 June 1953: Egypt was declared a republic for the first time in its history, and Naguib became its first ever President. Fuad was officially deposed and stripped of his royal titles.

Life in exileEdit

File:Farouk I, Narriman & Fuad II in Capri.jpg

Narriman, Fuad and Farouk in exile in Capri, Italy, 1953

Following Fuad's deposition,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":11">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fuad and his half-sisters were sent to live in Switzerland while Farouk remained in Italy, settling in Rome. Queen Narriman returned to Egypt in 1953 after wanting a divorce, and Farouk insisted that Fuad remain abroad.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":10" /> In 1958, Fuad was stripped of his Egyptian citizenship.Template:Citation needed

Farouk would visit Fuad two or three times each year before the former's unexpected death, possibly from a heart attack, in 1965, when Fuad was 13 years old. Fuad believes that Farouk was "poisoned by enemies".<ref name=":3" /> When he died, there were rumours in the press that he had been poisoned by Egyptian intelligence, though there is no known evidence to confirm this.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After Farouk's death, Fuad was guaranteed protection by Prince Rainier III of Monaco and his wife Princess Grace.Template:Citation needed Fuad would later become friends with Rainier in his early adulthood, when he visited Monte Carlo every summer.<ref name=":10" /> He has a Monégasque passport, on which he is named His Royal Highness Prince Ahmed Fouad Farouk.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":10" />

Growing up, Fuad and his half-sisters lived in Cully, a small village on Lake Geneva, under the care of a nanny, governess and bodyguard. Fuad attended the local public school where he was bullied and then went to middle school in Lausanne, before later attending the Institut Le Rosey, an elite and prestigious private boarding school.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":10">Template:Cite news</ref> He completed his secondary education, obtaining a French baccalaureate, before studying at the University of Geneva.<ref name=":5" /> He graduated with a degree in politics and economics in 1975.Template:Citation needed

In 1973, President Anwar Sadat lifted Fuad's and his half-sisters' exile.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fuad's Egyptian citizenship was restored in 1974. He has occasionally visited Egypt ever since,<ref name=":5" /> with his first visit occurring in 1991.<ref name=":3" /> On his Egyptian passport he has no titles and is simply identified as Ahmed Fuad with job description "previous king of Egypt".<ref name=":3" /> He is a Sisi-Supporter and has been granted a diplomatic passort by president Abdelfattah Al-Sisi as well as a private plane and financial support.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

MarriageEdit

File:Narriman 10.jpg

Fuad and Fadila's wedding in 1977

Fuad immigrated to Paris after graduating from university.<ref name=":5" /> In Paris, he set up a real estate business and married Dominique-France Loeb-Picard, a Jewish woman of Alsatian origin, in a civil ceremony in Paris on 16 April 1976.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite book</ref> She then converted to Sunni Islam,Template:Citation needed and the two had a religious wedding in Monaco on 5 October 1977.<ref name=":7" /> Loeb-Picard changed her name to Fadila Farouk.<ref name=":9">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Egyptian monarchists addressed her as Queen Fadila of Egypt,<ref name=":7" /> a nickname coined by the media.<ref name=":5" /> She then formally assumed the title of Queen of Egypt.<ref name="Rosten2015" />Template:Rp In 1996, she and Fuad divorced, and he stripped her of her title.<ref name="Rosten2015" />Template:Rp

After years of divorce proceedings which began in 1999,<ref name=":9" /> the marriage was formally dissolved in 2008.<ref name="Rosten2015" />Template:Rp Fuad found the divorce "deeply painful" and suffered from depression and poor health.<ref name=":3" /> Since the divorce Fadila has been known as Princess Fadila of Egypt.Template:Citation needed

IssueEdit

Fuad and Fadila had three children before their divorce: Prince Muhammad Ali, Prince of the Sa'id (born 5 February 1979), Princess Fawzia-Latifa (born 12 February 1982) and Prince Fakhruddin (born 25 August 1987).<ref name="Rosten2015" />Template:Rp The family lived together in Paris until the parents' divorce.Template:Citation needed After the divorce, Fuad was estranged with his children until Template:Circa.<ref name=":3" /> Fuad has four grandchildren.Template:Citation needed

Later lifeEdit

After his divorce with Fadila, Fuad returned to Switzerland to stay close with his half-sisters.<ref name=":11" />

In May 2010, he recorded a television interview with ONTV and talked about his visits to Egypt, how he felt about the Egyptian people, and their view of his late father.

Fuad II supported the candidacy of Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as President of Egypt in October 2013.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> However, in 2023 The Economist reported that some Egyptians were clamoring for his return as Egypt's ruler as frustration with Sisi's rule deepened.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>