Prince João Henrique of Brazil

Prince João Henrique of Brazil (João Henrique Felipe Miguel Gabriel Rafael Gonzaga; born 24 April 1954), commonly known as Dom Joãozinho, is a member of the Brazilian imperial family from Petrópolis branch. He is the son of Prince João Maria of Brazil and Fatma, Princess of Alexandria.

Reportedly the most popular among the Brazilian princes, Dom João was one of the possible contenders to become Emperor of Brazil during the monarchist campaign for the 1993 Brazilian constitutional referendum in which the people chose to maintain the republican form of government as opposed to restoring the monarchy abolished a century earlier in a military coup. A successful liberal professional, Dom João is an activist for the adoption (or re-adoption) of the parliamentary system, whether republican or monarchical, although he concludes that "monarchy perfects parliamentarism". The Prince also defends the rights of indigenous peoples and is active in promoting and defending Brazilian culture, especially that connected with Brazil's monarchical past, being a member of several institutes, and frequently invited by these, as well as by municipal, state and even federal governments, to lecture, having received several honors from public authorities.

An only child, Dom João is a rare product of the relationship between an American royal house and an African royal house (although both of European origin), being the son of Prince João Maria of Brazil and Princess Fatma of Egypt, widow of Hassan Tousson, Prince of Alexandria. Due to his positions declared to the national and international media, Dom João is considered a liberal. The Prince openly defended the LGBT rights, political plurality, and social policies such as the Bolsa Família. In his photographic expeditions, he helped, with his work, to expose the need for public policy in order to protect indigenous peoples. Despite his position, the Prince has a good relationship with republican authorities, being a friend of former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. he is also close to members of the British royal family, being particularly close friends with Princess Michael of Kent, and the Spanish royal family, especially with his first cousin, the King Juan Carlos I. Dom João was twice married to high-society Brazilians. With his first wife he had a son, Prince João Philippe, who married Yasmin Paranguá, daughter of the Count of Paranaguá, has a couple of children, and a daughter, Princess Maria Cristina, carrier of down syndrome.

Early life
Prince João Henrique was born in Rio de Janeiro, then the Federal capital of Brazil, in 24 April 1954. He is the only son to Prince João Maria of Brazil with Fatma Scherifa Chirina, formely wife of the late Hassan Tousson, Prince of Alexandria in theKingdom of Egypt. By his father's side, he was grandson of the disputed Emperor Pedro III of Brazil and a first cousin of Henri, Count of Paris and Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, respectively pretenders to the thrones of France and Portugal. Technically he is also Kin's first cousin Juan Carlos I of Spain through his uncle Pedro Gastão, Prince of Brazil, married to the sister of the Spanish monarch's mother and therefore this uncle. He grew largely in Rio, as his father was vice-president of the Panair do Brasil airline.

His mother Fatma had been previously married to Prince Hassan Toussoun of Egypt, The Prince of Alexandria, a cousin to the reigning King Farouk I. She and Hassan had one daughter, Princess Melekper Toussoun. João Henrique's father, João Maria, met Fatma in 1946 as he went to Cairo as part of a Brazilian military mission; he was a Lieutenant in the Brazilian Air Force and a veteran of the Italian campaign in the Second World War. The two of them soon got engaged much to the displeasure of King Farouk, of whom Fatma had been a lover while married to the late Prince Hassan. The couple had to flee Egypt in 1949 due to the King's ban on Fatma leaving the country. They were married in Sintra, Portugal. Fatma's and Hassan's daughter, Melekper, was left behind in Egypt to be raised by King Farouk as a half-sister of the future King Fuad II of Egypt. It is speculated that Melekper is actually the daughter of Farouk, not Hassan, with Fatma, and that is why the monarch welcomed her with such affection.

As a direct result of this history, both João Henrique, Melekper and the former King of Egypt maintain frequent contact and consider themselves sibling, meeting regularly at least once a year.

Career
Dom João holds a degree in photography from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Since his graduation, the prince has dedicated himself to photographing all of Brazil, from its nature to the people who inhabit the vast South American country and its cultures. He gained some prominence in the field, having his work exhibited in national and international galleries, such as the  Pierre Cardin Galerie  in Paris. His most famous photographic work was carried out in 2011 with the Xingu tribe, in the interior of Mato Grosso, in pantanal. On the occasion, Dom João had a touching reuinion with the indigenous Marcelo Kamayurá, whom he had carried in his arms as a baby in 1973 in the first photographic work he did in the Xingu Indigenous Park. In addition to his photographic work, Dom João is also a businessman, owning a 3-star hotel in the municipality of Paraty, a colonial city in the interior of the state of Rio de Janeiro, called Pousada do Príncipe, or The Prince's Inn. In the same place, the prince lives in a retrofitted townhouse popularly known as O Sobrado do Príncipe or The Prince's Townhouse. He is still a member of the organizational body of the International Literary Festival of Paraty and has investments in Rio de Janeiro.

Marriage and issue
In 1986 Prince João married Ms. Stella Leão Lutterbach, with whom he had two children:
 * Prince João Philippe of Brazil (Paraty, 27 November 1986), married to Ms. Yasmine Paranaguá (a great-great-great-granddaughter of João Lustosa da Cunha Paranaguá, 2nd Marquis of Paranaguá). They are parents to:
 * Princess Mia of Brazil (Singapore, 29 April 2015).
 * Prince João Antônio of Brazil (Singapore, 21 June 2017).
 * Princess Maria Cristina of Brazil (Paraty, 26 December 1989), author of three books and with down syndrome.

In 2009 Prince João and Princess Stella got divorced, and he later married Ms. Ana Claudia Melli.

Activism
Dom João is a strong supporter of the reintroduction of parliamentary system, which was in force in Brazil between 1847 and 1889, during the monarchy, and between 1961 and 1963, during the republic. Despite not actively defending the restoration of the monarchy, the prince always adds that "the monarchy perfects parliamentarism" and that the Brazilian monarchical regime was proportionally superior to the six republics that followed it, three of which had dictatorships. In his promotion of parliamentarism, he says he does not consider himself a priori monarchist, but a pro-parliamentarism, which is why the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo labeled him "The Republican Prince". Notorious for his position and his progressive opinions, Dom João regularly gives interviews and participates in or is the subject of journalistic articles in the main national media vehicles and in important international media such as El País and BBC. The Prince is openly liberal and progressive, a defender of parliamentary democracy with elements of direct democracy, the rights of minorities such as the gay marriage, preserving the environment, combating global warming, secular state and demarcating and respecting indigenous territories.

At various times Dom João criticized what he called the "distorted and exacerbated conservatism" of some members of the Brazilian imperial family, such as his cousin Prince Bertrand, as well as the Brazilian right, as well as politicians such as the former President Jair Bolsonaro. Despite being sympathetic to Lula as President of Brazil, the Prince became critical of the posture and actions of the president and the Worker's Party, mainly after their involvement in corruption schemes investigated by Car Wash Operation. At various times Dom João was invited to become a politician, including by the former governor of Rio de Janeiro, Leonel Brizola, and by the ex-President of Brazil of whom he is a friend, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, but he refused, claiming that his family must be non-partisan by obligation, as princes.

1993 Referendum
During the 1993 Brazilian constitutional referendum, Dom João campaigned mainly for the restoration of the parliamentary regime, and endorsed the claim of his uncle Pedro Gastão, Prince of Brazil, to the throne of Brazil if the monarchy won in the ballot. On spite of this, due to his popularity among the civilian society and the liberal political class (speacially the social-democrats and the center to center-left politicians), he ended up becoming unofficially one of the pretenders to the throne, having his name figured as one of the favorites, if not the favorite, to take the throne if the monarchy was restored. As a result, part of the monarchical campaign, which was not unified, focused on Dom João. Nevertheless, despite the efforts of the monarchist campaign, and precisely because of the lack of organization and media space of the monarchical cause activists, the monarchy was defeated, receiving 13% of the valid votes. The same fate was shared by the parliamentary system, which obtained 30% of the valid votes.

Relations with royalty
Related to many royal families, specially those of France, Portugal and Egypt, Prince João Henrique has unique royal connections. Besides his family connection with Egyptian royalty, being in a brotherly relation both with his sister, Princess Melekper of Egypt, and with the deposed King Fuad II (Melekper is his half-sister and was raised as Fuad's sister, possibly being his half-sister as well, so they all consider themselves siblings), he is relatively close to the British Royal Family, being a personal friend of Prince Michael of Kent and attending his and his family's fests and balls in places like the Windsor Castle. In Brazil, he received Lady Gabriella Windsor, when she was studying history of Latin America. He is also very close to King Juan Carlos I of Spain, of whom he is technically a cousin (his uncle's wife was the King's aunt), having been a frequent guest at the Zarzuela Palace during Juan Carlos's reign. He was also reportedly the Countess of Paris's favorite nephew and is friend to Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta.

Titles and styles

 * 24 April 1954 – present: His Highness Prince João Henrique of Brazil

Honours

 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Brazilian Imperial Family: Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Pedro I
 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Brazilian Imperial Family: Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Rose
 * Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Italian Royal Family: Grand Cordon of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus