Prince João Henrique of Brazil

Prince João Henrique of Brazil (born 24 Aprim 1954, Rio de Janeiro), better known as Dom Joãozinho, is a Prince of Brazil and member of the House of Orleáns-Braganza. A successful photographer, entrepeneur and pro-parlamentarianism activist, he is currently the most popular member of the Imperial House of Brazil.

Only child, Prince João Henrique is the unique case as a result of a relationship between an American royal house and an African one. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, son of Prince João Maria of Brazil and the Egyptian Fatma Scherifa Chirine, the widower Princess of Alexandria. Widely considered a liberal, Prince João Henrique is a strong supporter of parliamentarism as a system of government. As a photographer, he worked to expose the need to defend indigenous peoples. He has a good relationship with several politicians, including former Presidents, and with the British and Spanish royal families, among others.

Twice married and the father of a son and daughter, the latter with down syndrome, D. João currently lives in the colonial city of Paraty, where he owns an inn.

Early life
Prince João Henrique was born in Rio de Janeiro, then Federal capital of Brazil, in 24 April 1954. He is the only son to Prince João Maria of Brazil with Fatma Scherifa Chirina, the widower Princess of Alexandria in the Kingdom of Egypt. By his father, he was grandson of Emperor Pedro III of Brazil and a 1st cousin to Henri, Count of Paris and Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza, and technically also a 1st cousin to King Juan Carlos I of Spain, while by his mother he was related to the Egyptian and Persian royalty. He grew largely in Rio, as his father was vice-president of the Panair do Brasil airline.

Egyptian connection
His mother 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 half-sister. João and Fatma met in 1946, when he went to Cairo as part of a Brazilian military mission, having being Lieutenant in the Brazilian Air Force. Engaged, he had Fatma escaped Egypt in 1949, as King Farouk, a former lover who was still in love with her, forbade her to leave the country. That same year in Sintra, Portugal, João and Fatma married. Her daughter with Prince Hassan, Princess Melekper, was raised by King Farouk as a half-sister to the future King Fuad II of Egypt, and it is speculated that Fuad II is Farouk's son with Fatma.

As a direct result of this history, both João Henrique, Melekper and the former King of Egypt are in deep connection and treat each other as if they were all siblings, meeting once a year at least.

Works
Prince João has a degree in photography from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Since his graduation, he has dedicated himself to photographing all of Brazil, "the urban and the wild", and his work is frequently exhibited in national and international galleries, such as the Pierre Cardin Galerie in Paris. His most famous photographic work was done with the peoples of the Xingu, in the interior of Mato Grosso, having photographed several cultural aspects of the tribe, having had a touching reunion with the indigenous Marcelo Kamayurá in 2011, whom he had seen as a baby in the lap of the father in 1973.

In addition to his photography work, D. João owns a 3-star hotel called A Pousada do Príncipe (En: The Prince's Inn), in the colonial city of Paraty, in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, where he lives in a house known as O Sobrado do Príncipe (En: The Prince's Townhouse).

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 Joãozinho is a strong supporter of parliamentarism as a system of government, and on numerous occasions he declared that parliamentarism must be the central point for the change in Brazilian politics, adding that the monarchy improves the parliamentary process. Despite this, he does not consider himself a monarchist, but a parliamentarian, and has already been called by the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo "the republican prince". The prince has participated in numerous television programs and gave several interviews to the most famous newspapers in the country taking a stand. A declared liberal, he is also considered a progressive, defending democracy and minority social rights such as gay marriage and anti-homophobia and anti-racism laws, secular state and the demarcation of indigenous territory. At times, the prince criticized the Catholic fundamentalist and ultraconservative positions of members of the Imperial Family branch opposite his, and criticized corruption, authoritarianism and incompetence in governments.

At various times, D. 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, D. 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 vote. Despite this, due to his popularity among civil society and the more liberal political class, he ended up becoming unofficially one of the pretenders to the throne, having his name figured as one of the favorites, if not the preferred one, to assume the throne if the monarchy was restored. Part of the monarchical campaign, which was not unified, focused on D. João. But despite the efforts, precisely because of the lack of organization and space of the monarchical cause, the monarchy was defeated, receiving 13% of the valid votes, as well as parliamentarism, 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 Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of Pedro I
 * Flag of Empire of Brazil (1870-1889).svg Grand Cross of the Imperial Order of the Rose
 * Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Grand Cordon of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus