The newfound nostalgia among Egyptians for the monarchical period did not emerge in a vacuum. Among the most important principles of the revolution of July 23, 1952, were the elimination of capitalism and monopolies, bringing about social justice and putting in place a functioning democratic regime to confront political distortion. Yet on the 64th anniversary of that revolution, these have yet to be achieved.

In the shadow of the political polarization that followed the January 25 Revolution in 2011 and the government’s failure to manage the country politically and economically, Egyptians suffer from a bout of nostalgia that is driving some of them to say, “May God have mercy on [the king]; If only another [like you] would come!”

Facebook has become a platform both for young Egyptians who support a return to the monarchical period and for those who oppose it. The official Facebook page of King Farouk is always posting bright, attractive images of Egypt during the period of the monarchy and contrasting them with the chaos and caprice that afflicts Cairo today.

Egyptians consider the July 1952 revolution a watershed moment in their modern history, one which helped to rid them of monarchical rule. Nevertheless, current repression by the security forces has caused many to reconsider the words attributed to King Farouk when he was leaving Egypt (“One drop of Egyptian blood is more precious to me than all the thrones of this world.”) and compare them with what happened after the January 25 Revolution and the killing of protesters that followed.