Prince Muhammad Ali has left a comfortable life in Paris to fulfil an enduring dream -- return to Egypt, where his grandfather Farouk once ruled as king, hoping to restore the family's legacy.

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........

© Al Monitor