Fate Sorayi Isfandiyari-Bakhtiari turned out tragically. The girl came from an old Iranian family, she married the last Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, became a queen, but she could not find personal happiness. The royal couple did not have children, and Pahlavi decided to take a second wife to his house, who agreed to give birth to his heir. Then Soraya made a difficult decision to sacrifice her marital happiness to the interests of the state, and agreed to a divorce ...
For Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the union with Soraya was the second marriage. A charming and well-educated polyglot girl won the heart of the Pahlavi Shah. In 1948, he was shown a photograph of a beauty, and Pahlavi, who had recently survived a divorce, immediately decided to make a marriage proposal to Soraya. As a sign of deep sympathy, he presented her with a 22-carat diamond ring, and the girl agreed.
The wedding was played in 1951, since before that Soraya was undergoing treatment. Holiday congratulations to the couple were sent by the leaders of many states, and among the wedding gifts were truly luxurious things. In particular, Joseph Stalin sent a luxurious mink coat and a phone encrusted with black diamonds, Queen Elizabeth - antique silver candlesticks, and Harry Truman - a porcelain bowl.
Celebrated - in a big way. Above wedding dress Christian Dior worked on the decoration of the halls - dozens of florists who were delivered fresh flowers from the Netherlands, eminent artists performed at the celebration. The guests were asked to donate money to charities that help the poor in Iran, instead of giving gifts to the young.
The marriage of Soraya and Mohammed lasted seven years. When it became clear that Soraya's fertility treatment was not working, Mohammed decided that he wanted to find a second wife for himself. He needed an heir to keep the throne, but Soraya did not even want to hear about polygamy. She left the residence, went to live with her parents in Germany. There she was caught by Mohammed's decision to divorce.
Despite the divorce, Soraya retained the royal title. True, her later life was filled with sadness and longing. At the time of the divorce, Soraya was only 26 years old, she tried to cope with the onset of depression, occasionally starred in films, but did not build a successful acting career. Soraya lived for 69 years, she had short-lived love affairs, but she was not truly happy. Traveling through Europe, Soraya seemed to be trying to escape from herself, from her anguish and despair, but the depression did not recede. Soraya died alone in her home in 2001, the alleged cause of death was a stroke. She bequeathed her entire fortune to the Red Cross, as well as a public organization that supports children with disabilities, and an organization that helps homeless animals.
August 5, 2010, 17:26It would not be an exaggeration to say that the second wife of Shah Reza Pahlavi was one of the most beautiful women bygone century. The daughter of a German and an Iranian, a descendant of an ancient Persian family, Soraya Asfandiyari Bakhtiari was born on June 22, 1932 in Isfahan. In 1947, the parents took the girl with amazing blue-green eyes to Europe, where she received her education. Who knows what the fate of Soraya would have been if she had stayed in Europe ... But in 1951, the Shah of Iran, Mohamed Reza Pahlavi, having easily survived a divorce from the Egyptian princess Fawzia, decided to marry a second time. The candidates were presented to him personally or shown photographs so that the Shah could make his choice. Among others was a photograph of Soraya. The girl was very surprised when her family received an invitation to visit the Shah's palace and participate in the dinner of the ruling dynasty of their native country. And Shah himself had only one meeting to make his choice. Late in the evening, Soraya and her father left the palace, but at about 2 o'clock in the morning, Shah called their house and asked for the hand of a girl with blue-green eyes. On February 12, 1951, they got married. It is said that the Shah was madly in love with Soraya. She accompanied Reza Pahlavi everywhere and always, capturing her eyes and always admiring her beauty, grace and impeccable manners. But the idyll of the august couple was overshadowed by something ... They say that the Shah's personal astrologer, who did not like the queen for her German roots, made a lot of efforts, whispering to Reza Pahlavi about what sorrows and misfortunes the stars promise him if he stays with this woman. .. But those are rumors, but there was a much more serious fact, which could not be dismissed as prejudice and idle talk - Soraya had no children. And the Shah needed an heir, and this was a question at the level of the country's national security problem. Mohamed Reza Pahlavi was desperately looking for a way out of the situation ... He thought about taking a second wife who would give birth to his son. He proposed changing the Iranian constitution so that after the death of the Shah, his brother would inherit the throne ... But the ruling circles put pressure on the Shah - changing a wife is much easier than changing the constitution. On March 14, 1958, Mohamed Reza Pahlavi and Soraya Esfandiyari Bakhtiyari divorced. A beauty with blue-green eyes went to Europe to her parents. According to rumors, Shah repeatedly asked her to return and agree to the role of the first wife, provided that there was a second one, who would only give birth to a son and not let the Pahlavi dynasty end. But Soraya could not even imagine how it was possible to share a beloved man with another woman, especially since she would also be an official wife ... The gifts that Soraya Shah showered with were too generous for "compensation" after a divorce. By the end of his life, Soraya's fortune was estimated at 75 million euros. For the rest of their lives, Shah and Soraya closely followed each other through chronicles, secular and not so much. Perhaps the astrologers were right about something. The beauty brought misfortune to those who loved her. Director Franco Inzovina died in a plane crash, with whom she had very serious relationship. And Shah... The fate of Reza Pahlavi is well known to everyone. Shah's third wife, Farah, gave birth to his long-awaited son, the very heir for whom he betrayed his beloved woman. But this sacrifice was in vain, because in 1979 the monarchy in Iran was overthrown by Islamists led by Ayatollah Khomeini. The Shah and his family fled to Egypt. Then to Morocco. To the Bahamas. To Mexico. USA. Panama. And again, Egypt, where the Shah died from a surprisingly evil course of lymphoma ... Soraya shone in Europe with jewelry, chic outfits ... But still, it was not for nothing that the chroniclers called her "the princess with sad eyes" - her love remained there, in Tehran . On October 25, 2001, Soraya Bakhtiari Esfendiari died from extensive hemorrhagic stroke, leaving behind a huge fortune, later sold under the hammer. For she did not have any heirs ... And Reza Kir Pahlavi, the ill-fated heir to the dynasty, who de jure is now His Imperial Majesty Shahanshah Aryamehr, de facto has nothing to do with the throne ... Updated on 05/08/10 17:33:
I figured it out a long time ago, it remains - Asia.
Today I will tell you about the last three queens of Iran. I really wanted to name the post - the three queens of Persia, as Iran used to be called. It's very beautiful. But, even in Europe, since 1935 this name is considered obsolete and everyone calls Iran Iran. Well, I will too. So, about the last three ... whether it is worth digging further into the depths of centuries, we will decide together.
Last Shahinshah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi(1919-1980) (Pahlavi - clan), overthrown in 1979, was married three times.
Queen Fawzia bint Fouad of Egypt
(1921-)
Princess Fawzia, daughter of King Fuad I of Egypt, a beautiful blue-eyed brunette, in 1939 became the first wife of the Shah (then Crown Prince of Iran) Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The Shah and his first wife Fawziya had a daughter, Shahnaz. The marriage was not successful, the Shah needed an heir.
Queen Fawzia of Iran (approx. 1940)
The same frame, but completely
Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi with his wife Fawzia and their newborn daughter
Shortly after the birth of the couple's only daughter, Queen Fawzia filed for a divorce in Egypt and received it in 1945, after which she moved to Cairo. The daughter stayed with her father. The divorce certificate was not recognized by the Iranian authorities, but subsequently, on November 17, 1948, the divorce was nevertheless legalized, after which Fawzieh was returned the title of princess of Egypt and Sudan.
In 1949, Princess Fawzia remarried Colonel Ismail Hussein Shirin Bey (1919-1994), a distant relative and former Minister of the Army and Navy. The couple has two children - Nadia (1950 - 2009) and Hussein Shirin Effendi (born in 1955). Fawzia is now alive and well.
Soraya Asfandiyari Bakhtiari
(1932-2001)
The second wife of Shah Mohammed Reza in 1951 was Soraya Asfandiyari Bakhtiari (of half German descent). She was the daughter of the leader of the Persian diaspora in Europe Khalil Khan Asfandiyari Bakhtiyari and his German wife Eva Karl. Shah Mohammed loved the green-eyed beauty Soraya very much, but unfortunately they had no children.
Soraya Asfandiyari Bakhtiari (1951)
The Shah with his bride Saraya
Soraya Asfandiyari Bakhtiari (1960s)
The Iranian Majlis (parliament) demanded an heir. Mohammed thought about taking a second wife who would bear him a son, and also proposed changing the Iranian constitution so that after his death the throne would be inherited by his brother. Soraya was against the first option, and the Majlis was against the second. In March 1958, after 7 years of childless marriage, Mohammed was forced to divorce. They write that the Shah suffered greatly, visited ex-wife gave gifts. Persuaded to be the first wife, in the presence of the second, which will give birth to an heir. Soraya refused.
Soraya spent the rest of her life in Europe, drowning in depression, the details of which she outlined in her memoirs - in the 1991 book The Palace of Solitude. Soraya Asfandiyari Bakhtiyari died in Paris at the age of 69, outliving her ex-husband by 20 years. About her life, they say, a beautiful but sad film "Soraya" was shot.
So, the shah divorced the first two wives, because he had no sons from them.
Shah needs a wife who will give birth to a son. A special physical culture parade was organized in Tehran, in which several hundred young girls took part. During the first parade, Mohammed was sad and failed to make his choice. The parade was repeated. Shah chose former basketball player Farah Diba.
Farah Diba
(1938-)
Farah Diba, an Azerbaijani from a noble and wealthy family of Tabriz. Her paternal grandfather at the end of the 19th century was the Iranian ambassador to the Romanov court. Farah was educated in Tehran and Paris. IN school years She was fond of sports and was even the captain of the basketball team. Fluent in English, French, Farsi and some Azeri. The wedding of 21 year old student Farah and 40th Mohammed Reza Pahlavi took place on December 21, 1959.
Wedding photo (1959)
Queen Farah of Iran (1960)
Queen Farah bore the Shah four children (two sons and two daughters): Reza Kir Pahlavi (1960),
Farangiz Pahlavi (1963), Ali Reza Pahlavi (1966),
Leila Pahlavi (1970).
An heir, and not one, was born, the shah could be calm. On October 26, 1967, when the Shah became Shahinshah, the king of kings, 29-year-old Farah Diba received the title of shahban, which gave her the right to regency. The coronation surpassed the coronation of Napoleon in splendor. Of the three wives of the Shah, she was the only one who was crowned as empress (shahbanu). It was a sensation, at that time women in the East were not given such rights.
After the coronation. On the left is the Shah's daughter from his first marriage, Shahnaz. On the right is Empress (Shahbanu) Farah.
Empress Farah 1972
Shahinshah sacrificed love in vain. The Islamic Revolution of 1979 overthrew the Shahinshah and he and his family were forced to leave the country. Shahinshah died in exile in Cairo the following year.
After the Shah's death, the exiled empress remained in Egypt for almost two years. A few months after the assassination of President Sadat in October 1981, the Empress and her family left Egypt. President Ronald Reagan informed the Empress that they were ready to receive her in the United States. Farah first settled in Williamstown, Massachusetts, but later bought a house in Greenwich, Connecticut. After the death of her daughter Princess Layla in 2001 (Layla Pahlavi was found dead in a hotel room in London. The cause of death was not precisely determined. The princess suffered from severe depression in her last years) Farah purchased a small house in Potomac, Maryland, near Washington , DC, to be closer to the eldest son and grandchildren. January 4, 2011 younger son Farah, Ali Reza Pahlavi, killed himself with a gunshot at his home in Boston.
Empress Farah lives and lives in America, next to her eldest son and grandchildren.
Empress Dowager of Iran Farah Pahlavi
Deeper, into the history of Iran, dig? There will be fewer pictures... Islam.
Everything in this woman is amazing - a rare beauty, an unusual fate, fantastic luck, soldered with the same bad luck. The most beautiful of the three wives of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi was remembered for her extraordinary sadness. The words "palace" and "loneliness" are key words in Soraya's life. Her treasures went under the hammer in the name of charity, but little is written in Russian about the shahin, and even less about the jewelry that belonged to her.
The ancient Arabic name Soraya means "seven stars" or "constellation Pleiades". The daughter of a Persian and an Ashkenazi Jewess endlessly went her astral name. Years flew by, the seven stars of the princess formed into a sad predestination of a non-trivial fate. What are they, the symptomatic stars of Soraya?
Star One - Origin
A princess not of royal blood, not even a 100% Persian - Soraya Isfandiyari-Bakhtiari was born in Isfahan on June 22, 1932. Widely known as the second wife of the thirty-fifth Shah of Persia, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Soraya - not a dusty Cinderella, came from a noble warlike family of Bakhtiars who ruled in southwestern Iran. Father Khalil Isfandiyari-Bakhtiari (1901-1983) was sent by his widowed mother to study in Germany in the 1920s, where he married a Jewish emigrant from Russia, Eva Karlovna Furstin, as a Berlin student. She entered the annals of history in the light of her daughter's marriage, like the German Eva Karl (1906-1994). Five years later, the son Bijan appeared, younger brother Sorayi (1937-2001).
Eva Karl - former Muscovite
Star Two - Beauty
Beauty fascinates, surprises, like the highest creation of the forces of heaven. Soraya Isfandiyari-Bakhtiari was distinguished by marvelous attractiveness. She remained in the cage of the most charming women of the 20th century, and this is not insinuating flattery, not a high-flown compliment, not a courtly turn, but obviousness.
Outwardly, Soraya Isfandiyari-Bakhtiari is strikingly similar to the delightful Hollywood actress Ava Gardner (1922-1990).
Michele Placido and Anna Valle in Soraya, 2003
In the German-Italian film directed by Lodovico Gasparini "Soraya", the princess was played by the charismatic Anna Valle. Miss Italy 1995 is good, but it doesn't have Soraya's magical blue-green eyes.
Star three - Civilization
Five-year-old Soraya with a friend at the Berlin Zoo
Soraya was not a year old when she left Isfahan with her parents, her father was sent to the diplomatic service in Germany. From Berlin, the Isfandiyari-Bakhtiari family returned to Tehran in the autumn of 1937.
In Iran, Soraya studied at a German school until 1941, where Persian was also taught. After the occupation of the country, all German educational institutions closed. Education stalled, only in 1944 the girl entered the English missionary school. Two years later she continued her studies in Switzerland, fluently mastered French. Later she learned English in London. She spoke Persian, German, English and French fluently.
Family of British Queen Elizabeth II and Soraya with Shah Mohammed
Shahinya is a lover of reading, well versed in world literature, surrounded herself with people of art and culture. Subsequently, some will play an unseemly role in the coup, and this will be remembered by the unattainable Soraya.
Portrait in emeralds
Fourth Star - Dignity
Under the blows of fate, Soraya did not bend or break. Truly imperial dignity was her distinction. The Almighty rewarded the shahin with rare beauty, but deprived her of motherhood. Mohammed Reza for the sake of the throne involuntarily divorced and married a third time. Fortune made a terrible grimace at him: the last wife Farah gave birth to a son, but Reza Kir Pahlavi turned out to be the heir to the throne of the non-existent Iranian throne: in 1979, the Shahship in Iran was destroyed by the Islamic revolution. Mohammed Reza and his family were forced to leave their homeland. The Shah went to Egypt, then to Morocco, the Bahamas, Mexico, the USA, Panama, and again to Egypt. Here he died of lymphoma in the summer of 1980.
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and Soraya Isfandiyari-Bakhtiari got married in 1951, and divorced in 1958, according to an official statement due to the shahini's childlessness. Shortly before her death, Soraya decided to reveal one of the most painful personal secrets: she was not barren, as the Iranian doctors insisted to the shah. Ill-wishers shamelessly manipulated the results of medical examinations, suggesting to Mohammed that it was his duty to give birth to the heir to the throne without long waiting. An authoritative lie is worse than a gun.
Mohammed and Soraya endlessly dreamed of an heir, the shahina was treated in Switzerland and France. In 1954, the couple arrived in the United States, where a gynecologist with the presidential surname Roosevelt examined the patient. Subsequently, he sent the results to Tehran, in which he rejected the barrenness of Soraya, but it seems that no one there needed them.
The fifth star - Highness
flower brooch
Flower brooch instead of expensive jewelry
Brooch - democratic silk flower
Soraya did not marry for titles and bank accounts, she really loved Shah Mohammed. All the more painful for her was the proposal to move in the matrimonial bed, that is, to wait until the third wife, temporarily taken with fertile intentions, would give an heir. Soraya indignantly rejected the unacceptable option. A proud woman chose to abandon her beloved.
In marriage, the second wife of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi bore the title of malake (comparable to the queen), although the press often incorrectly referred to the shahbanu - the empress. After the divorce, Soraya ceased to be a malak, but received a personal lifelong title of "Princess Soraya of Iran" and the address "Her Imperial Highness".
Watch needed
Shahinya Soraya was urged to agree to a parallel wife for a crowned husband, but she responded with categorical disagreement with the age-old ritual of polygamy.
Before leaving Tehran, Soraya burned personal papers, went through and packed all the gifts she received. Her last day in Iran, ironically, fell on the European holiday of love - February 14, 1958.
Soraya went to wait for her fate at the Shah's villa in St. Moritz, Switzerland. She won't come back. When she was informed that the divorce case was underway, she went to her parents in Cologne, Germany.
After seven years of marriage, the Shah and the Shahin officially separated. The marriage ended, but the love did not pass. Mohammed Reza was not in power to end the divorce, but he tried his best to soften the blow to his beloved ex-wife. By a special decree, Soraya received not only the title of Imperial Princess, but also a diplomatic passport of Iran. Having left the royal family, she became equal in rights and privileges to the sisters of the Shah and Persian embassies around the world were ordered to accept her “honoris causa” as an acting relative of the crowned family. In European society, the title of princess elevated Soraya above many members of the most noble clans. The princess used an Iranian diplomatic passport until the Islamic revolution. In 1979, when the shahship was overthrown, the privileges of the princess ended. But King Hassan ordered a Moroccan diplomatic passport to be issued for her. It just so happened that Soraya became a German citizen just a few years before her death.
Star six - Loneliness
Impeccable manners, refined taste, the ability to be an interesting conversationalist, goodwill to charitable foundations are bonuses to the elite beauty of Soraya. Unfortunately, finding yourself after marriage special success were not crowned.
With Günter Sachs, 1962
After the divorce, the princess healed her emotional wounds in Germany with short romances, either with the actor Maximilian Schell or with the heir to the industrial empire, Günther Sachs.
Soraya and producer, director Dino de Laurentiis
Later in Italy, she became friends with famous actors and directors. Immediately began a short career as a film actress, in which she given name without titles. In 1965, she starred in the Italian film Tre Volti - "Three Faces" directed by Franco Indovina (1932-1972), with whom a sensational romance began right on the set. In the same year, the beauty appeared in the role of Soraya in the film "She". Seven years later, 39-year-old Indovina died in a plane crash while Soraya was visiting her parents in Germany.
Princess Soraya and Franco Indovina, 1964
The tragedy with Franco crippled the beauty, she suffered endlessly from depression. Soraya was dubbed "the sad-eyed princess". This nickname stuck forever.
S Oraya Asfandiyari-Bakhtiyari was born on June 22, 1932, in Isfahan, Iran. The eldest child and only daughter of Khalil Asfandiyari, a representative of the noble Bakhtiyari tribe from southern Iran, who in the 1950s was the Iranian ambassador to Germany. Soraya's mother is a Russian-born German, Eva Karl. In general, her family has long represented the Iranian government and the diplomatic corps. Uncle, Sardar Assad, was the leader of the Iranian constitutional movement at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1947, the parents took the girl with amazing blue-green eyes to Europe, where she received her education. Who knows what the fate of Soraya would have been if she had stayed in Europe...
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Soraya with her mother \ Soraya Asfandiyari-Bakhtiyari
But in 1951, the Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, having easily survived a divorce from the Egyptian princess Fawzia, decided to marry a second time. The candidates were presented to him personally or shown photographs so that the Shah could make his choice. Among others was a photograph of Soraya. The girl was very surprised when her family received an invitation to visit the Shah's palace and participate in the dinner of the ruling dynasty of their native country. And Shah himself had only one meeting to make his choice.
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The Shah soon presented Asfandiyari with a 22.37-carat diamond ring to mark their engagement. The couple planned to get married on December 27, 1950, but due to the illness of the bride, the celebration was postponed to February 12, 1951.
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Soraya Asfandiyari-Bakhtiyari and Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
Although the Shah announced that the guests were supposed to donate money to a special charitable fund for poor Iranians, among the wedding gifts, for example, there was a mink coat and a writing set with black diamonds sent Joseph Stalin. The decoration of the ceremony took 1.5 tons of orchids, tulips and carnations, which arrived by plane from the Netherlands. The bride was dressed in a silver dress, studded with pearls and trimmed with marabou stork feathers, which Christian Dior sewed for the occasion.
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Soraya Asfandiyari-Bakhtiyari and Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi on their wedding day
It is said that the Shah was madly in love with Soraya. She accompanied Reza Pahlavi everywhere and always, capturing her eyes and always admiring her beauty, grace and impeccable manners. But despite this, the imperial couple broke up in early 1958 due to the apparent infertility of Sorai, which she tried to cure in Switzerland and France.
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And the Shah needed an heir, and this was a question at the level of the country's national security problem. Mohamed Reza Pahlavi was desperately looking for a way out of the situation ... He thought about taking a second wife who would give birth to his son. He proposed to change the constitution of Iran so that after the death of the Shah, the throne would be inherited by his brother ...
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But the ruling circles put pressure on the Shah - changing a wife is much easier than changing the constitution. Bakhtiyari left Iran in February and eventually came to her parents' home in Cologne, Germany, where the Shah sent her uncle, Senator Sardar Assad Bakhtiyari, in early March 1958 to persuade her to return.
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It was soon announced that the imperial couple was ending their relationship with a divorce. Soraya, 25, said she was "sacrificing her happiness" and later said her husband had no choice but to divorce her.
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On March 21, 1958, the Shah, with tears in his eyes, announced his divorce to the Iranian people. His speech was broadcast on radio and television, in which he also added that he would not remarry in a hurry. The marriage was officially annulled on April 6, 1958. According to the New York Times, the divorce was preceded by intense negotiations, where Queen Soraya was tried to be convinced that her husband's second wife was not so bad. However, Asfandiyari referred to "the sanctity of marriage", saying that "she cannot bear the idea of sharing her love for her husband with another woman."
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The gifts that showered Soraya Shah were too generous for "compensation" after a divorce. By the end of his life, Soraya's fortune was estimated at 75 million euros. For the rest of their lives, Shah and Soraya closely followed each other through chronicles, secular and not so much.
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Having become free, Bakhtiyari starred in films for some time and was next to the Italian director Franco Indovina. After Indovin's death in a car accident, Soraya spent the rest of her life in Europe, drowning in depression, the details of which she outlined in her memoirs - in the 1991 book "The Palace of Solitude".
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Soraya Asfandiyari-Bakhtiyari died on October 26, 2001, in her apartment in Paris, France, at the age of 69, she died of a massive hemorrhagic stroke, leaving behind a huge fortune, later sold under the hammer. Because she didn't have any heirs.
Upon learning of her death, her younger brother Bijan passed away a week later. Rumors that the brother and sister were killed remained groundless.
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