Soraya Esfandiary
Encyclopedia
Romanization of Persian
Romanization of Persian is the means by which the Persian language is represented using the Latin alphabet. Several different romanization schemes exist, each with its own set of rules driven by its own set of ideological goals.-Romanization paradigms:...
: Sorayâ Asfandiyâri-Bakhtiyâri) (22 June 1932 – 26 October 2001) was the second wife and Queen Consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
, the late Shah of Iran
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...
.
Birth
Born in IsfahanIsfahan (city)
Isfahan , historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 km south of Tehran. It has a population of 1,583,609, Iran's third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad...
, Iran, Soraya was the eldest child and only daughter of Khalil Esfandiary, a Bakhtiari nobleman and Iranian ambassador to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
in the 1950s, and his Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
wife Eva Karl. She had one sibling, a younger brother, Bijan.
Her family had long been involved in the Iranian government and diplomatic corps. An uncle, Sardar Assad
Sardar Assad
Sardar As'ad Bakhtiari , also known as Haj Ali-Gholi Khan, Sardar Asad II was an Iranian revolutionary, a leader of Bakhtiari Haft Lang tribe, and one of the primary figures of the Persian Constitutional Revolution...
, was a leader in the Iranian constitutional movement of the early 20th century.
Marriage
In 1948, Soraya was introduced to the recently divorced Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, by Forough Zafar Bakhtiari, a close relative of Soraya's, via a photograph taken by Goodarz Bakhtiary, in London, per Forough Zafar's request. At this time Soraya had finished high school in Switzerland finishing schoolFinishing school
A finishing school is "a private school for girls that emphasises training in cultural and social activities." The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the educational experience, with classes primarily on etiquette...
, and was studying the English language in London. They were soon engaged (the Shah gave her a 22.37 carat (4.474 g) diamond engagement ring).
Soraya married the Shah at Golestan Palace
Golestan Palace
Golestān Palace pronounced "Kakheh Golestān" is the former royal Qajar complex in Iran's capital city.The oldest of the historic monuments in Tehran, the Golestan Palace belongs to a group of royal buildings that were once enclosed within the mud-thatched walls of Tehran’s Historic Arg...
in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
on 12 February 1951; originally, the couple had planned to wed on 27 December 1950, but the ceremony had to be postponed due to the bride being
ill.
Though the Shah announced that guests should donate money to a special charity for the Iranian poor, among the wedding gifts was a mink coat and a desk set with black diamonds sent by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
; a Steuben glass
Steuben Glass Works
Steuben Glass Works was an American art glass manufacturer, founded in the summer of 1903 by Fredrick C. Carder and Thomas G. Hawkes in Corning, New York, which is in Steuben County, from which the company name was derived. Hawkes was the owner of the largest cut glass firm then operating in Corning...
Bowl of Legends designed by Sidney Waugh and sent by U.S. President
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
and Mrs. Truman
Bess Truman
Bess Truman , was the wife of Harry S. Truman and First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953.-Early life:...
; and silver Georgian candlesticks from King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
and Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, and the 2,000 guests included Aga Khan III
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
.
The ceremony was decorated with 1.5 tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of orchids, tulips, and carnations, sent by plane from the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, and entertainment included an equestrian circus sent from Rome. The bride wore a silver lamé gown studded with pearls and trimmed with marabou stork
Marabou Stork
The Marabou Stork, Leptoptilos crumeniferus, is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in Africa south of the Sahara, occurring in both wet and arid habitats, often near human habitation, especially waste tips...
feathers, designed for the occasion by Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
. She also wore a full-length female white-mink cape.
Infertility and divorce
Though the wedding took place during a heavy snow, deemed a good omen, the imperial couple's marriage had disintegrated by early 1958 owing to Soraya's apparent infertilityInfertility
Infertility primarily refers to the biological inability of a person to contribute to conception. Infertility may also refer to the state of a woman who is unable to carry a pregnancy to full term...
, for which she had sought treatment in Switzerland and France, and the Shah's suggestion that he take a second wife in order to produce an heir. She left Iran in February and eventually went to her parents' home in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany, where the Shah sent his wife's uncle, Senator Sardar Assad
Sardar Assad
Sardar As'ad Bakhtiari , also known as Haj Ali-Gholi Khan, Sardar Asad II was an Iranian revolutionary, a leader of Bakhtiari Haft Lang tribe, and one of the primary figures of the Persian Constitutional Revolution...
Bakhtiari in early March 1958, in a failed attempt to convince her to return to Iran. On 10 March, a council of advisors met with the Shah to discuss the situation of the troubled marriage and the lack of an heir. Four days later, it was announced that the imperial couple would divorce. It was, the 25-year-old queen said, "a sacrifice of my own happiness." She later told reporters that her husband had no choice but to divorce her.
On 21 March 1958, the Iranian New Year's Day, a weeping Shah announced his divorce to the Iranian people in a speech that was broadcast on radio and television; he said that he would not remarry in haste. The headline-making divorce inspired French writer Françoise Mallet-Joris
Françoise Mallet-Joris
Françoise Mallet-Joris is the nom de plume of Françoise Lilar.She was born in Antwerp, the daughter of the writer Suzanne Lilar and the Belgian Minister of Justice and Minister of State Albert Lilar, and the sister of the 18th century art historian Marie Fredericq-Lilar...
to write a hit pop song, Je veux pleurer comme Soraya (I Want to Cry Like Soraya). The marriage was officially ended on 6 April 1958.
According to a report in The New York Times, extensive negotiations had preceded the divorce in order to convince Queen Soraya to allow her husband to take a second wife. The Queen, however, citing what she called the "sanctity of marriage", stated that "she could not accept the idea of sharing her husband's love with another woman."
In a statement issued to the Iranian people from her parents' home in Germany, Soraya said, "Since His Imperial Majesty Reza [sic] Shah Pahlavi has deemed it necessary that a successor to the throne must be of direct descent in the male line from generation to generation to generation, I will with my deepest regret in the interest of the future of the State and of the welfare of the people in accordance with the desire of His Majesty the Emperor sacrifice my own happiness, and I will declare my consent to a separation from His Imperial Majesty."
After the divorce, the Shah, who had told a reporter who asked about his feelings for the former Queen that "nobody can carry a torch longer than me", indicated his interest in marrying Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy
Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy
Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy is a Savoyard princess and noted historian of Italy...
, a daughter of the deposed Italian king Umberto II. In an editorial about the rumors surrounding the marriage of "a Muslim sovereign and a Catholic princess", the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano
L'Osservatore Romano
L'Osservatore Romano is the "semi-official" newspaper of the Holy See. It covers all the Pope's public activities, publishes editorials by important churchmen, and runs official documents after being released...
, considered the match "a grave danger".
Career as actress
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...
after her divorce, she moved to France.
Princess Soraya launched a brief career as a film actress, for which she used only her first name. Initially, it was announced that she would portray Catherine the Great in a movie about the Russian empress by Dino De Laurentiis
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer.-Early life:He was born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples, and grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father...
, but that project fell through. Instead, she starred in the 1965 movie I tre volti (The Three Faces) and became the companion of its Italian director, Franco Indovina
Franco Indovina
Franco Indovina was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed six films between 1965 and 1971. He died when Alitalia Flight 112 crashed on approach to Palermo...
(1932–72). She also appeared as a character named Soraya in the 1965 movie She
She (1965 film)
She is a 1965 film made by Hammer Film Productions, based on the novel by H. Rider Haggard. It was directed by Robert Day and stars Ursula Andress, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.-Plot synopsis:...
.
After Indovina's death in a plane crash, she spent the remainder of her life in Europe, succumbing to depression, which she outlined in her 1991 memoir, Le Palais Des Solitudes (The Palace of Loneliness).
Later years in Paris
During her last years Princess Soraya lived in Paris on 46 avenue MontaigneAvenue Montaigne
Avenue Montaigne is a street in the 8th arrondisement of Paris, France-Name origin:Avenue Montaigne was originally called the allée des Veuves because women in mourning gathered there, but the street has changed much since those days of the early 18th century. The current name comes from Michel...
. She occasionally attended social events like the parties given by the Duchess de La Rochefoucault
Duc de La Rochefoucauld
The title of Duke de La Rochefoucauld was a French peerage, one of most famous families of French nobility, whose origins go back to lord Rochefoucauld in Charente of the 10th Century - 11th Century...
. Her friend and event organizer Massimo Gargia tried to cheer her up and make her meet young people.
Princess Soraya was known to have taken Internet Lessons at the Cybercafe de Paris (now Cremerie de Paris).
She was a regular client of the hairdresser Alexandre Zouari. She also enjoyed to go to the Bar and the Lobby of the Hotel Plaza Athénée
Plaza Athénée
The Plaza Athénée is a hotel in Paris, France. It is located at 25 Avenue Montaigne, near the Champs Elysées and the Eiffel Tower. It is part of the Dorchester Collection group of international luxury hotels....
located opposite her apartment.
She was often accompanied by her former lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
and loyal friend Madame Firouzabadian Chamrizad. Another friend was the Parisian socialite Lily Claire Sarran.
Princess Soraya did not communicate with the Shah's third wife Farah Diba, even when both of them lived in Paris.
Death
Princess Soraya died on October 26, 2001 (which would have been the 82nd birthday of the Shah) of undisclosed causes in her apartment in Paris, France; she was 69. Upon learning of her death, her younger brother, Bijan (1937–2001) (who died in Paris one week after Soraya), sadly commented, "After her, I don't have anyone to talk to."After a funeral at the American Cathedral in Paris on 6 November 2001 – which was attended by Princess Ashraf Pahlavi
Ashraf Pahlavi
Princess Ashraf ul-Mulki Pahlavi , is the twin sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran and the Pahlavi Dynasty. She currently resides in Paris, France. Princess Ashraf is the oldest living member of her family...
, Prince Gholam Reza Pahlavi, the Count and Countess of Paris
Henri, comte de Paris, duc de France
Henri d'Orléans is a member of the former French ruling dynasty of the House of Bourbon, and one of the current pretenders to the defunct French crown. A descendant of King Louis-Philippe , he is the current head of the Orléans line of the Bourbon dynasty...
, the Prince and Princess of Naples
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, formerly Crown Prince of Italy is the only son of the Umberto II, the last King of Italy. He is commonly known in Italy as Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia...
, Prince Michel of Orléans, and Princess Ira von Fürstenberg
Ira von Fürstenberg
Princess Virginia of Fürstenberg is a European socialite, actress, jewelry designer, and a former public relations manager for the fashion designer Valentino Garavani.-Background:...
– she was buried in the Westfriedhof, a cemetery in Munich, Germany, along with her parents and brother.
The former queen's belongings were sold at auction in Paris after her death, for more than $8.3 million. Her Dior wedding dress brought $1.2 million.
Titles
- Miss Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari (1932–1951)
- Her MajestyMajestyMajesty is an English word derived ultimately from the Latin maiestas, meaning "greatness".- Origin :Originally, during the Roman republic, the word maiestas was the legal term for the supreme status and dignity of the state, to be respected above everything else...
The Queen of Iran (1951–1956) - Her Imperial Highness Princess Soraya of Iran (1956–2001)
Though her husband's title, Shahanshah (King of Kings), is the equivalent of Emperor, it was not until 1967 that a complementary feminine title, Shahbanu
Shahbanu
Shahbanu means Empress in Persian. It was a title that was only conferred on the third royal consort of Mohammad Reza Shah, Farah Pahlavi, in 1967....
or Shahbanou (equivalent of Empress consort), was created to designate the consort of a Shah. Farah Pahlavi
Farah Pahlavi
Farah Pahlavi is the former Queen and Empress of Iran. She is the widow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, and only Empress of modern Iran...
was the first and last to have this title. Until then, wives of Shahs (including Soraya) bore the title Malake (which is comparable with that of Queen Consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
), though in the popular press they frequently and incorrectly were called "Empress".
Upon the divorce, Soraya lost the title "Queen", but a day later she was granted the personal style and title Her Imperial Highness Princess Soraya of Iran.
Memoirs
Princess Soraya wrote two memoirs. The first, published in 1964 and published in the United States by Doubleday, was Princess Soraya: Autobiography of Her Imperial Highness. A decade before her death, she and a collaborator, Louis Valentin, wrote another memoir in French, Le Palais des Solitudes, which was translated into English as Palace of Solitude (London: Quartet Books Ltd, 1992); ISBN 0-7043-7020-4.Legacy
The French rose grower, François Meilland, bred a sunflower in the former queen's honor, which he called Empress Soraya.An Italian/German television movie about the princess's life, Soraya (a.k.a. Sad Princess) was broadcast in 2003, starring Anna Valle (Miss Italy 1995) as Soraya. French actress Mathilda May
Mathilda May
Mathilda May is a French film actress.-Early life:May was born in Paris. Her father is playwright Victor Haïm, who is of Greek and Turkish descent. Her mother is Swedish ballet teacher and choreographer Margareta Hanson...
appeared as the Shah's sister, Princess Shams Pahlavi
Shams Pahlavi
Princess Shams ul-Mulk Pahlavi Persian:شمس پهلوی was the elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran...
.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Zwischen Glück und Krone | Herself | Archive Footage |
| 1965 | I tre volti | Herself/Linda /Mrs. Melville | |
| 1965 | She She (1965 film) She is a 1965 film made by Hammer Film Productions, based on the novel by H. Rider Haggard. It was directed by Robert Day and stars Ursula Andress, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.-Plot synopsis:... |
Soraya | |
| 1975 | Belly Dancer | Episode #4.6 | |
| 1991 | Doctor at the Top | Episode: "Kindest Cut" | |
| 1998 | Legenden | Herself | Episode: "Soraya" |
External links
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