From being crowned as the queen of Iran to leading a life of a socialite in Paris, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari’s story was a fairy tale that ended in a tragedy.
Hers is not just the story of royalty and romance—it is the haunting melody of a woman who had everything, and yet lost what mattered most.
But even fairy tales have shadows. Beneath the tiaras and royal banquets hid a silent sorrow—a love that could not bear an heir, a queen asked to step down from her throne… and from her husband’s heart.
Hers is not just the story of royalty and romance—it is the haunting melody of a woman who had everything, and yet lost what mattered most.
She was the princess with eyes like a Persian night—mysterious, luminous, and unforgettable. When Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary married the Shah of Iran, the world watched in awe as a fairy tale unfolded in glittering palaces and golden carriages.
But even fairy tales have shadows. Beneath the tiaras and royal banquets hid a silent sorrow—a love that could not bear an heir, a queen asked to step down from her throne… and from her husband’s heart.
Hers is not just the story of royalty and romance—it is the haunting melody of a woman who had everything, and yet lost what mattered most.
But even fairy tales have shadows. Beneath the tiaras and royal banquets hid a silent sorrow—a love that could not bear an heir, a queen asked to step down from her throne… and from her husband’s heart.
Hers is not just the story of royalty and romance—it is the haunting melody of a woman who had everything, and yet lost what mattered most.
In certain corners of the world, someone only has to whisper the name “Queen Soraya” to raise up a story of sweeping beauty, royal betrayal, and lasting tragedy.
From a teenage marriage to her mysterious end in a Paris penthouse, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary’s heartbreaking life is worthy of a twisted fairy tale.
Soraya was groomed for a royal destiny from the very start. The only daughter of Iranian nobleman Khalil Esfandiary and his wife, the German heiress Eva Karl.
Soraya grew up in luxury and spent her adolescence shuttling between Berlin and Isfahan while attending the best finishing schools.
The story goes that the recently divorced prince, who was formerly married to Princess Fawzia of Egypt, had ‘fallen in love’ with a picture of the 18-year-old Soraya and hastily invited her to his palace to have dinner with the queen mother, Tadj ol-Molouk.
Following the evening, Soraya’s father reportedly told her: ‘The Shah liked you very much. Are you ready to marry him?’ The next day, the couple were engaged, with the Shah proposing to Soraya with a 22.37 carat diamond engagement ring.
It was on 12th February 1951, that the world would witness a marriage ceremony that would end up in a tragedy, eventually. Mohammed Reza Shah of Iran married Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari.
The grand ceremony took place at Golestan Palace in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
But all it took was 7 years for this marriage to dissolve, and Soraya would earn the tag of “princess with the sad eyes”.
The story of her wedding was as dramatic as it ended. Soraya was beautiful and her beauty was mentioned in the Iranian society.
It was in 1948, when Queen Mother of Iran, Tadj ol-Molouk, was looking for a bride for her recently divorced son — Shah Mohammad Reza.
All it took was one photo of the Soraya, for Queen Mother, to make her the chosen one for her son. It did sound like a fairy tale, which many women grow up listening about, but this marriage wasn’t going to be one.
Soraya was just finishing up school, and many believe that she was only 16-years-old when the marriage proposal that would make her Iran’s new queen was made.
Before the proposal, she was invited to the royal palace in Tehran, for a meet and greets session. Everyone present was judging her ability to be the future queen. It wasn’t enough to be just beautiful.
However her world was about to change, the moment she laid her eyes on Shah Mohammad Reza.
He walked in wearing his military uniform and the 16-year-old Soraya described him as “magnificent.”
Shah Mohammad Reza was love-struck with Soraya. In fact he was obsessed. But, could a girl in her teens, marry someone in his 30s, and have a smooth married life? Soraya’s father did have his apprehensions about this match.
He asked his daughter, ” Are you ready to marry him?” She was in love and more than willing to marry him.
What Soraya didn’t realise the nightmare her husband’s family was. Her new in-laws were famously dysfunctional.
Her husband’s father deliberately with held affection to toughen his son and had a penchant for disciplining with riding whips. The Queen Mother exhibited suffocating jealousy in her displays of affection for her son.
Shah Mohammed Reza had been earlier married to Princess Fawzia of Egypt. She was a beautiful woman, who had been unhappy in this family setup. They also had one daughter, before their divorce.
Mohammad Reza’s flaws weren’t inherited but deeply personal. He was a notorious cheater in his first marriage, known for lavish affairs and secretive escapades.
Despite Soraya’s acceptance of his proposal, rumours and uncertainties clouded their engagement. Their wedding faced a setback when Soraya fell severely ill with typhoid on the eve of the ceremony.
The wedding ceremony was postponed. Although Shah Mohammad Reza initially showed empathy by adorning her sickbed with jewels everyday, the rush to reschedule the wedding just six weeks later took a severe toll on Soraya.
Queen Soraya’s wedding dress, a revered piece in fashion history crafted by Christian Dior, was a silver lamé masterpiece adorned with pearls and marabou feathers.
Yet, hidden beneath the glamour, Soraya struggled immensely.
Following the ceremony, both jacket and veil were exchanged for an emerald and diamond parure and the crown jewels were added.
Given it was mid February and the palace was unheated, by the evening the bride was given a mink cape to keep her warm and wool socks to hide beneath her dress.
The intense chills forced her to wear wool undergarments as the cold and weakness from the sickness made her shiver.
Weighing a staggering 66 pounds, the lavish gown nearly overwhelmed the ailing bride, prompting the Shah to intervene last-minute by cutting short its train to make it easier for her frail body to carry it.
However, this wasn’t the only ominous sign. While their love appeared idyllic, Soraya’s darker side emerged soon after their marriage began.
Crowned the Queen at a tender age, her penchant for childish outbursts became evident to the Shah. Though charming in good spirits, her temper was perilous, notably during spats with the Shah.
One public episode culminated in her shattering a priceless vase against the wall, but it was her cutting words that left lasting wounds.
After seven years of marriage, Queen Soraya and the Shah faced a distressing reality:
she was infertile. She hadn’t borne a child, forget a male heir. Even extensive medical checkups confirmed her inability to bear a child.
This circumstance compelled their separation, leading to a tearful announcement of divorce by the Shah in 1958.
A decision Soraya deemed as a personal sacrifice for her own happiness.
Shah had never wanted to leave Soraya, but the demand of royal family for an heir had made him ask Soraya if he could get a second wife. Soraya had refused to share her love.
The Shah remarried a year later to Farah Diba, and ironically, despite his initial need for a male successor, he fathered four children, including two boys.
Ultimately, the need for a male heir became redundant. However, political upheavals in 1978 and 1979 led to the overthrow of his regime by the Islamic Republic. Shah Mohammad Reza died in July 1980.
Despite her divorce from the Shah of Iran in 1958 (after she failed to produce an heir), the couple remained in love until his death in 1980.
Endowed with the title HRH Princess Soraya of Iran and substantial financial means, she led life of a socialite across Europe.
Her ventures extended to the entertainment realm, featuring a brief foray into acting with roles in films like the 1965 movie “I tre volti” (The Three Faces) and a character named Soraya in the film “She”.
In her later years, Soraya settled in Paris at 46 avenues Montaigne. She frequented gatherings hosted by the Duchess de La Rochefoucauld and savoured moments at the bar of the Hotel Plaza Athénée, conveniently situated across from her residence.
Her company often included luminaries from high society, among them Lily Claire Sarran, a notable Parisian socialite of that era.
In the midst of her opulent life, Soraya struggled to get real happiness. Her romantic involvement with director Franco Indovina met a tragic end due to his untimely death in a plane crash.
40 years ago, Iran’s last shah fled the country.
Iran’s last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who fled his country 40 years ago under pressure from massive street protests.
He the “King of Kings” who came to be damned by his own people.
The Iranian Shah who was running from corner to corner was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. He was the last Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 until he was overthrown in 1979.
Facing widespread popular anger and massive street protests, he was forced to flee Iran in January 1979. He ultimately died in exile in Egypt in 1980.
Later, upon learning of her ex-husband’s terminal illness in the late seventies, she reached out, expressing her enduring love and a wish to reunite.
He reciprocated the sentiment, desiring to see her as well. Sadly, when she arrived in Iran, last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had already passed away.
In the quiet years that followed, far from the marble halls of Tehran, Princess Soraya lived not as a queen, but as a memory suspended in time—a rose pressed between the pages of history.
She never remarried, for her heart had once held an empire, and no lesser kingdom could fill its emptiness.
Photographers captured her beauty, filmmakers admired her mystique, but none could truly touch the sorrow she carried.
Her story, like the setting sun, faded not into darkness, but into a soft, eternal glow—a tragic fairy tale whispered through generations, where love was royal, but destiny was cruel.
Soraya died on October 26th, 2001, in Paris. No one ever discussed the cause of her demise.
The End
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