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Soraya Esfandiary-BakhtiariSecond wife and queen consort of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, late Shah of Iran
Date of Birth: 22.06.1932
Country:  France |
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Biography of Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari
Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari was the second wife and queen consort of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran. Born on June 22, 1932, in Isfahan, Iran, Soraya was the eldest child and only daughter of Khalil Esfandiary, a representative of the noble Bakhtiari tribe from southern Iran, who served as Iran's ambassador to West Germany in the 1950s. Her mother, Eva Karl, was a German-born Russian. Soraya came from a family with a long history of representing the Iranian government and diplomatic corps. Her uncle, Sardar Assad, was a leader of the Iranian constitutional movement in the early 20th century.
Meeting the Shah and Marriage
In 1948, Soraya was introduced to the recently divorced Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Paris, where she was finishing her studies at a Swiss boarding school for noble girls. The Shah soon presented Soraya with a 22.37-carat diamond ring, marking their engagement. They planned to marry on December 27, 1950, but due to the bride's illness, the ceremony was postponed until February 12, 1951. Despite the Shah's suggestion that wedding guests donate money to a special charity fund for the poor, the couple received extravagant gifts, such as a mink coat and a writing set adorned with black diamonds sent by Joseph Stalin. The wedding was lavishly decorated with 1.5 tons of orchids, tulips, and carnations flown in from the Netherlands. Soraya wore a silver dress embellished with pearls and marabou stork feathers, designed by Christian Dior. Though the wedding took place during a heavy snowfall, traditionally seen as a good omen, the imperial couple's relationship came to an end in early 1958 due to Soraya's apparent infertility, which she attempted to treat in Switzerland and France. Additionally, the Shah wanted to marry another woman to secure an heir. In February, Soraya left Iran and eventually returned to her parents' home in Cologne, Germany, after being sent there by her uncle, Senator Sardar Assad Bakhtiari, at the Shah's request in early March. The imperial couple's divorce was announced shortly after, and on March 21, 1958, the Shah tearfully informed the Iranian people of their separation during a radio and television broadcast, also stating that he would not hastily remarry. The official divorce took place on April 6, 1958.
Life After Divorce
After becoming a free woman, Soraya briefly pursued a career in films and spent time with Italian director Franco Indovina. However, after Indovina's death in a car accident, she lived the remainder of her life in Europe, suffering from depression, which she detailed in her 1991 memoir, "The Palace of Loneliness." Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari passed away on October 26, 2001, at her apartment in Paris, France, at the age of 69. Her younger brother, Bijan, died a week later upon hearing the news of her death. Rumors of foul play surrounding their deaths were unfounded.
