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Meanwhile the situation in
Iran was getting very unhealthy for the Bakhtiaris as the new Shah began
persecuting, imprisoning, and executing their leaders. The Shah had decided
that the Bakhtiaris had to be crushed for several reasons. Their
semi-autonomy was troubling to the central government and their agreement
with the British over the protection of oil pipelines and shares in the oil
profits were not in line with the new policies of the Shah in terms of
consolidation of the shareholdings of the Anglo Iranian Oil. The Bakhtiaris
were ordered to surrender their Arms to the representatives of the
Government and the Khans were forced to sell or relinquish their shares in
the oil companies. Bakhtiaris were also rounded up for conscription duties
away from their territory. The strange bed-fellowship of the British and the
Bakhtiaris was especially troubling to Reza Shah as he had become a great
admirer of the Germans and had closed his eyes to the activities of the
German agents in the country. He was convinced in his heart that the Axis
powers would be victorious in the War. A belief that would eventually cost
him his throne. An uprising by a small faction in the Bakhtiari territory
gave the Shah the excuse to arrest the Khans and sentence some to death and
others to varying prison terms.
Khalil khan felt it was time to be away from Iran for a while and decided to
join his wife and daughter in Berlin; so it was after a 6 months separation
that the young family was united again. The family rented a 4 room apartment
in Nestorstrasse and Khalil khan registered with the police, much against
his will, as a "farmer" because his family owned land and farms in Persia.
His own claim to be registered as a Khan was brushed aside as there was no
such "profession" in Germany!
Life in Berlin
During the family's stay
in Berlin, Soraya or 'Raya as she was called, became inseparable from her
grand father Franz Karl. He would come and fetch her every Sunday to take
her to the zoo and go for walks. Franz Karl recalled that she was choosy and
would not play with everyone. She would scrutinize especially the boys most
carefully and it wasn't long before she was ordering even the biggest and
oldest ones about. He remembers that Soraya was quite fearless at that young
age and gives an example "I remember a walk through the Grunwald, when a
huge black dog pursued us. His wild looks and violent barking quite
frightened me, but Soraya ran towards him and put her arms round his neck. I
was terrified. There was no need to be. The dog and the little girl became
friends immediately".2 From her childhood Soraya had a great love for
animals. In her home in Berlin she looked after a yellow canary and a
mischievous black-and-white fox terrier.
A new world had opened up for Soraya in Berlin. She always remembered and
recalled her first children's party outside of Berlin near one of the many
lakes. There were a lottery, shooting gallery, sack racing and egg-and-spoon
racing. There was also a little open-air theatre where she played the part
of the Sleeping Beauty. Her part consisted solely in being awakened from her
hundred-years sleep by the young prince's kiss, an experience that even at
that age she found extremely pleasant!
The stay in Berlin was uneventful and Khalil khan was constantly thinking of
returning to Iran and waiting for the political climate for the Bakhtiaris
to become tolerable. Nineteen thirty-six and thirty-seven were tough years
for the young Esfandiary family. Hitler had announced general conscription
and from him and Marshall Goring the talk was now of war.
Return to Isfahan
Khalil khan was beginning
to become aware of the political situation in Europe, which he had so far
ignored. Now it suddenly affected him personally. It was becoming more
difficult to get all the money he needed out of Persia and the family were
headed for financial crisis for the first time and the likelihood of him
being drafted into the Armed Forces was becoming real. So it was in the
autumn of 1937 with Eva pregnant that they decided once more to leave Berlin
and return to Isfahan. Tearfully, little Soraya said goodbye to her
grandfather and her friends and her toys were given to a church.3
After an arduously long journey, they reached Isfahan. This time however,
they were not particularly welcomed and the parents were immediately put
under supervision by the authorities and could not leave town without the
permission of the police. This was due to the order of the king that all
Bakhtiari movements be watched and reported. Apart from this inconvenience,
they were left in peace. By the time of their arrival, the house in Isfahan
was nearly ready for occupation and it was a short time later that Eva gave
birth to a beautiful boy, Bijan, on the 15th of October 1937. Soraya was now
a lovely little 5 year old when her brother Bijan was born. Bijan was
chubby, blond and full of life. The family started working on the house to
complete it and especially on the gardens by planting more fruit trees and
building a small round pond for dipping in during the hot days of summer.
The design of the house
was a mixture of both Persian and European. It was a comfortable home for
the young family and their German Sheppard dog and a greyhound. It was
equipped with wood-burning fireplaces and stoves. It also had bath with
running hot and cold water, which was a luxury in those days. Soraya
attended the German school in Isfahan run by a Mrs. Mentel and spent much
time with the children of other German families her own age. |
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The Shah
asks Soraya's hand in marriage
When the 2nd World War
ended, Eva who was longing to return to Europe after 10 years in Isfahan
persuaded Khalil Khan that it was time to return. They moved to Switzerland
in 1947 and rented an apartment in Zurich. Soraya was sent to "La
Printaniere" in Montreaux, a finishing school to polish up her French. A
year later she was transferred to "Les Roseaux" near Lausanne, another
finishing school. She became fluent in French and learned some English. To
improve her English, it was arranged that she would spend the summer of 1950
in England. Some of her 2nd cousins also lived in London. Two of whom,
Goudarz, a keen amateur photographer, and Malekshah were staying at a
boarding house near St. James's Park with Bibi Shoakat, Goudarz's mother and
attending a language school. Soraya was also enrolled in the same school and
moved in with her cousins and Bibi Shoakat in order to enjoy the protection
and supervision of these family members.
At this time, the Shah
after having divorced his first wife, Princess Fauzieh of Egypt, was looking
for a wife and many candidates were being introduced to him either in person
or through photographs.
One day, the Queen Mother (Taj-ol-Moluk) asked her close friend and
confidant Forough Zafar Bakhtiari, daughter of Sardar Zafar, that surely she
could find a suitable bride for the Shah amongst the vast Bakhtiari family.
Forough Zafar began her search and remembered that one of her nieces, Ghamar
Ahmadi who had just returned from a trip to Europe, had mentioned that while
in Switzerland, she was invited to Khalil Khan Esfandiari's apartment and
had met his daughter Soraya whom she found to be a very beautiful, well
educated, and spoke several languages. Ghamar Ahmadi also added that Soraya
was now studying in England to polish up her English. When Forough Zafar
mentioned Soraya to the Queen Mother, the Queen asked to see some
photographs. Forough Zafar contacted Goodarz, in London and asked him to
take some photos of Soraya and send them to her in Tehran as soon as
possible. As it was just after the World War II, mail was not very fast or
efficient so it took a while for the photos to arrive. Meanwhile, before the
arrival of the photos, Princess Shams was traveling to London to see and
interview two other candidates for the Shah. Forough Zafar asked the
Princess, "while in London, perhaps you could also arrange to meet Soraya
Esfandiari by inviting my nephew Malekhah. I will make sure he brings Soraya
along with him so you could meet her personally". The meeting took place at
the Princess's private suites and she was so impressed by Soraya's beauty
and personality that she dispatched an urgent message to the Queen Mother
telling her that "Having met Forough Zafar's cousin, I don't need to see any
other girl. This woman is born to be a Queen. She is beautiful, very well
educated, and has excellent mannerism".4 At this time the photographs from
London also reached Forough Zafar who immediately took them to the Queen
Mother who in turn passed them on to the young Shah. The Shah looked at the
photographs and listened to the description that Princess Shams had given of
her, and expressed his desire that they should meet. Message was sent to
Princess Shams to bring Soraya to Tehran with her.
Soraya writes in her
memoirs, "Le Palais de Solitudes" that "when Malekshah asked me to go to the
reception with him, at first I was reluctant to meet any of the Pahlavi
family because of what they had done to the Bakhtiaris but I had heard that
Princess Shams was a nice and attractive women so my curiosity got the
better of me". Princess Shams and Soraya went to Paris from London to do
some shopping at the fashion houses of Dior and Channel. Upon hearing the
news of Soraya's impending trip to Tehran, Forough Zafar wrote to Khalil
Khan telling him what was happening and suggested that he should join the
Princess and Soraya in Paris. The Princess and Soraya flew from Paris to
Rome where they were joined by Khalil Khan and then on to Tehran.
Coincidentally, Amir Jang was also traveling to Tehran on the same flight
but unaware of what was happening. It was with a full wardrobe of the latest
Parisian fashion that they arrived in Tehran.
Soraya was pretty much exhausted after the long trip and wanted to rest but
the Queen Mother and the Shah were so curious to see her as soon as possible
that she was summoned to the Queen Mother's palace for a small dinner the
same evening. The Royal family received her warmly and for a quarter of an
hour, they exchanged small talk followed by the usual Persian custom of
enquiring after her health and the health of her relatives! They all awaited
the arrival of the Shah.
Princess Shams had told Soraya that her brother was not particularly
handsome in order not to raise her expectations. At last someone announced
the arrival of His Majesty the Shah. They all got to their feet and the Shah
appeared in the dress uniform of a general of the Iranian Air Force which
was evidently his favourite uniform. He embraced his mother and then Soraya
was presented to him. The two were drawn to one another instantly and sparks
began to fly. At the dinner table, Soraya sat next to the Shah and talked
about Switzerland and the country around Montreux and Lausanne and her likes
and dislikes. After dinner they played games and the family became more
relaxed. Late that evening Soraya left to get some sleep but at 2 in the
morning the Shah telephoned and asked to speak to Khalil Khan. When Khalil
Khan came to the phone, the Shah told him that he is asking for Soraya's
hand and he wants to know how she felt about it. Soraya's answer was of
course yes as she too was smitten by the young handsome Shah. Next morning,
the imperial Court informed the news media and Soraya's photographs were
distributed amongst the newspapers.5 The next day the Shah came to visit
Soraya who was staying at Amir Hossein Khan Zafar's villa, and began
courting her. It was towards the end of that year on the 11th of October
1950, that they were officially engaged.
In the ensuing weeks, the Shah and his fiancée saw one another almost daily
and with each meeting, they grew more intimate. They went riding in the
foothills of Shemiran, played tennis, and went flying with the Shah at the
controls. In the evenings the Shah's sisters and brothers gave small parties
for the couple that were lots of fun. They also inspected several of the
Royal palaces in and around Tehran for their future residence. Soraya
eventually chose one modest and small palace on Pasteur Ave as their future
residence and decorators were hired to do the necessary work. The couple
also set a date of December 26th as their wedding day. At this time, Soraya
suddenly fell ill with typhoid and as her fever did not abate, the wedding
was postponed.
The wedding
Soraya recovered
sufficiently for the wedding to take place on the date they had set in
February although still very weak and shaky. On the 12th of February 1951
the couple were married. The wedding ceremony took place at the famed Hall
of Mirrors at the Golestan Palace amidst much pomp and circumstance. The
wedding guests numbered 1,600 according to some news reports. The bride wore
a beautifully crafted wedding dress by Christian Dior consisting of 37 yards
of silver lame with 20,000 feathers and 6,000 diamond pieces sewn on. Soraya
was still very weak from her recent fight with Typhoid and was shivering in
the cold that February night. The Shah draped a beautiful Dior mink jacket
around her shoulders, which added to her difficulty in walking under such
heavy load of the jacket and the dress with the long train. The Shah and Dr.
Ayadi came up with a solution. A skillful lady-in-waiting was summoned with
a pair of scissors who cut off yards of the petticoat and the trail without
her having to take off the wedding gown. |
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In Rome
Shah and Soraya lived very
happily and very much in love for the next two years without much event
until the relationship between the King and the popularly elected and
nationalistic Prime Minister, Dr. Mossadegh came to a head. The events that
led to the events of 1953 have been well documented and many of the details
have now been written about and no need to go through them in this article.
It should however be mentioned that the Shah, the British, and the US had
agreed that Mossadegh ought to be dismissed from his post and the Shah
subsequently ordered his dismissal and remained in his residence by the
Caspian awaiting news of Dr. Mossadegh's reaction. First reports were not
good and he decided to leave Iran with Soraya and his personal pilot. After
a brief stop in Baghdad, the Royal couple arrived in Rome with mush anxiety
and not sure of the next phase of their lives. The Shah and Soraya stayed at
the Hotel Excelsior in Rome. The media was having a field day and one
interview after another was being given. Soraya is well remembered in her
dotted strapless dress and her large sunglasses.
The Shah and Queen Soraya were staying in their suite most of the time with
ears pinned to the short wave radio tuned to Radio Tehran. What they heard
on the radio was not encouraging and the Shah was getting desperate and
losing his nerve. The young couple discussed their next move and the Shah
turned to Soraya and said: "We shall have to economize, for I am sorry to
say that I don't have much money; enough perhaps to buy us a farm
somewhere". Soraya then asked where would they go and to her horror he
replied: "probably America. My mother and my sister Shams are already there
and I hope my brothers may be able to follow us. We could then all live
together in order to live economically". The Shah's capital at that time
consisted of the estate that his father had left him and the Shah's
allowance of $750,000 per annum out of which he had to meet all the expenses
of the Court as well as providing for his family dependents. In consequence
he had been unable to put much aside.
News of the Coup
It was two o'clock in the
afternoon of 19th August 1953. The Shah and Soraya had just returned from a
shopping spree and were having lunch at the hotel's dining room when a young
reporter from Associated Press came to their table and triumphantly handed
them a Teletype message. It read: "MOSSADEGH OVERTHROWN-IMERIAL TROOPS
CONTROL TEHRAN-ZAHEDI PREMIER". The news had just come over the Teletype and
while they continued with their lunch, the AP reporter hastened back and
forth between his office and the hotel bringing them the latest breaking
news and developments. Soraya was calm but the Shah had turned so pale that
Soraya feared he might faint. The Shah and Soraya embraced and rushed
downstairs where all the media had gathered. As the royal couple reached the
lobby, the hotel manager rushed forward and handed the Shah a telegram,
which had just arrived. The telegram read: "Your Majesty, the people of Iran
have risen. We are all awaiting Your Imperial couple's safe and speedy
return to the capital" the telegram was signed: "General Zahedi, Prime
Minister". The CIA and the British Intelligence Services had pulled off the
coup successfully the Shah returned to Tehran on the 21st August 1953 to a
hear t warming welcome. Soraya also returned shortly after.
Soraya liked having some
of her family members around her at the Court. Rostam Amir Bakhtiar became
her Private Secretary and Malekshah Zafar, Ghobad Zafar, Majid Bakhtiar,
Salar Bakhtiar and Jamshid Bakhtiar became frequent visitors to the Court
and were nightly partners of the Shah in games of Poker and Bridge. General
Teymour Bakhtiar, a distance cousin of Soraya, a brave and charismatic
commander of an Armoured Brigade who had moved towards Tehran at the head of
his brigade to back the Royalists, was rewarded and became the Military
Governor of Tehran. He later became the most powerful man in Iran as the
head of the newly formed Internal Security, SAVAK.
The quiet days of marriage followed. The Royal couple were constantly
together and they had time to travel. Amongst the trips were the state visit
to Russia in 1956 to meet Mr. Khrushchev; other visits took them to India,
the United States, Britain, Turkey, Spain, and Lebanon. These journeys also
provided a sort of delayed honeymoon for the couple.8 Back in Tehran, Soraya
busied herself with renovating and fixing up their residential palaces and
attending to charity organizations formed under her patronage. "Queen Soraya
Pahlavi Charity" was the principal charity of her patronage, which was
formed and managed efficiently by Forough Zafar.
Meanwhile, the Shah had appointed Soraya's father ambassador to Germany, a
post he cherished even though he did not involve himself with the duties of
an ambassador. He left that to the Minister and other Foreign Office
professionals posted to the embassy.
The Divorce
When in 1949 an attempt
was made upon the Shah's life from which he escaped with only minor
injuries, his advisers urged him to consider an heir for the sake of
continuity of the monarchy. In many instances in other monarchies of the
world, a brother or an uncle would be appointed as heir until a direct heir
was born but the Shah always resisted such suggestion. He did however
consider for a while, appointing Prince Ali Reza as his heir but when he
died in an air crash, this subject became more troubling. With the political
situation in Iran becoming quiet and more stable, the question of succession
became a topic of everyday conversation and concern between the Soraya and
the Shah. Soraya had been to every known specialist in the world to find a
cure for her sterility but of no avail. Even during their December 1954
visit to the U.S. Soraya was seen by the best but the news was not
encouraging. One doctor had suggested a very risky operation with a minimum
chance of success but maximum risk, which the couple did not accept.
One day in July 1957 the couple went for a long walk in the Palace grounds.
The Shah talked about the dynasty's survival and brought up the heir issue
and the fact that they would soon have to make a decision no matter how
painful. They talked about alternatives like the Shah taking a second wife
and perhaps changing the constitution to allow one of his half brothers to
become king after him. They couldn't agree on any of these alternatives and
found each one unacceptable. They finally decided with tears in their eyes
and with very heavy hearts, to separate. Before departure for Europe, Soraya
burnt all her personal papers; packed her souvenirs and gifts she had
received, and left Tehran on the 14th of February 1958 never to see her
beloved country again. Soraya settled in the Shah's Saint-Moritz villa for a
while and during her stay, the Shah would call her every day, and then he
decided to stop. From Switzerland she went home to stay with her parents in
Germany for a while. Amir Jang, the elder of the family and a Senator was
dispatched to see Soraya in order to try and persuade her to agree to the
Shah taking a second wife but she refused. General Yazdanpanah accompanied
by his wife and General Dr. Ayadi also traveled to Germany on two occasions
to persuade Soraya to return. Eva received them but Soraya refused even to
meet with them. The Shah and Soraya divorced on the 14th March 1958 after 7
years of marriage. They had already said their sad tearful good byes in
private. Their love for one another remained until the end. Soraya began her
grief in private and in dignity like a true Bakhtiari.
Soraya's years away from Iran
The Shah had been intent
on providing a life of comfort and dignity for his ex-Queen. He had settled
a sum of money on her in addition to having made several settlements in her
favor during the course of their marriage in the form of money as well as
land and securities. Soraya under advise from her father, had invested well
so at the time of the divorce, she had a modest fortune that together with
the Shah's final settlement would be enough to enable her to live in
comfort. The shah also issued a special decree and bestowed upon Soraya the
title of Imperial Princess for life accompanied by a diplomatic passport.
She therefore became by rank, equal to Shah's sisters and the Persian
Embassies had to continue treating her as a member of the Royal family.
Furthermore, in the European society, she took precedence over many members
of the highest nobility. She enjoyed the diplomatic passport and the
privileges that came with it until the 1979 Iranian revolution when King
Hassan of Morocco ordered that a Moroccan diplomatic passport be issued to
her. Eventually, she became a German citizen just a few years before her
death.
Soraya lived in Rome for a while heart broken and a recluse. She rented a
pretty villa located among vineyards, thirty minutes from Rome. Her old
friends would come and keep her company but on the whole she lived quietly
and slowly began to enjoy her new life but her restless soul could not
settle down. Soon, she became restless and during the summer months when
Rome became too hot, she traveled to Northern Europe and stayed in Cologne
for a while with her mother with whom she felt secure. The period of sadness
and aimless life seemed to have no end for her. Now alone and without any
aids or protection of the Imperial court, she had to do everything herself,
and even harder still was that she now had to learn how to live the life of
an ordinary citizen again. She was alone, frightened, and uncertain of her
future. Her only security and comfort was in her immediate family. She began
traveling extensively.
She moved from Rome to Cologne, to Munich, to Paris, to Rome to Monaco and
eventually ended up in Rome again. She was allured by the movie industry as
it had always been her dream to one day become a movie star. She met Dino de
Laurentis at a party one evening in Rome. Dino offered her a role in a movie
he was making. Soraya readily accepted. The movie's title was "Three faces
of a woman" and Mauro Bolognini, Michelangelo Antonioni and Franco Indovina
directed it. The movie was a disaster. The rumor has it that when the Shah
heard that Soraya was to appear in a movie, he was so infuriated that the
whole world would now his ex-wife in romantic scenes that he ordered all the
copies be bought and destroyed. Soraya kept one copy, which was eventually
sold at the auction of her estate in Paris in May of 2002 together with all
her personal effects.
Soraya's Death
Soraya continued her life
in Paris and spent her summers at her Villa Maryam (named after her
grandmother) in Marbella, Spain. She moved in the high society circles and
spent her time with a select few friends. The sad end came at 2 PM Thursday
25th of October 2001. She was only 69. Her maid found her dead on the floor
of her bedroom in her apartment at 46 Ave Montaign. Apparently a massive
brain hemorrhage was the cause of Soraya's death.
The service at the American Church in Paris, a close walking distance from
Soraya's apartment was arranged for the 7th of November 2001 and her brother
Bijan along with other family members and Paris dignitaries were to attend
the services. Bijan, aided by a companion, traveled by car from Koln a few
days earlier. Sadly while staying at Hotel George V in Paris, Bijan died
suddenly before he could attend the funeral of his sister.
With her brother Bijan in later years |
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On the day of the service, "Cathedrale
Americaine de la Sainte Trinite" in Avenue George V filled up with
approximately 400 friends, family and dignitaries including Count of Paris
Henri d'Orleans, Prince Gholam Reza Pahlavi and his wife, Beatrix de
Hohenlohe, Rixa de Oldenburg, Anne de Bourbon, some members of the Bakhtiari
family and her friends. Outside the Cathedral, a large crowd of camera teams
and photographers from all over the world had gathered looking for prominent
faces. The memorial service began at 3 PM when the coffin was brought in
draped in blue silk and adorned with a single rose carried by 6 pallbearers.
Canon Sharon Gracen gave the sermon. During her sermon, she recited some of
Rumi's writings; she was followed by some kind words and remembrance by the
ex-ambassador of France to Iran, Francis Dore, followed by Alexandre de
Villiers who had once been commissioned by Queen Farah to write a book about
Iran and the Imperial family. A distinguished former cabinet minister of
Iran, Dr. Majid Majidi spoke on behalf of the Iranian exiles in France and
expressed his condolences to the Bakhtiari family for their loss. Iranian
soprano, Darya Dadvar delivered a beautiful Ava Maria by Franz Schubert to
the music of the organist.
The body was taken to Germany on Friday 16th of November and buried in her
family tomb in the cemetery of Westfriedhof, Munich.
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