The stories of royalty They are also full of love, heartbreak and tragedies, such is the case of this princess who divorced her husband as an ‘act of love’ by not being able to give him children.
It is about Soraya from Iran, who, according to Tatler, despite his divorce from the Shah of Iran in 1958 she remained in love until the day she died in 1980.
The story of Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, known as “the princess with sad eyes”, is one of the most moving of the royalty of the 20th century. In 1951, Soraya, an 18-year-old girl, She married the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, in a lavish ceremony at the Golestan Palace in Tehran.
According to the aforementioned media, the relationship between the two began in an unusual way: The Shah fell in love with a photograph of Princess Soraya and invited her to a dinner with the queen mother. Shortly after, he proposed to her with a 22.37-carat diamond ring.
The marriage of Soraya of Iran and the Shah It seemed to be the perfect fairy tale, but as time went by, the couple faced a painful obstacle: they could not have children. The lack of an heir to the Iranian throne put enormous pressure on both. Despite the love they shared, the Pahlavi dynasty needed to ensure its continuity, forcing a difficult decision to be made.
The tragic end to the love story of Soraya and Shah of Iran
In 1958, after seven years of marriage, Soraya from Iran decided to separate from her husband, as an act of love to allow the Shah to find another woman with whom he could have children. This sacrifice deeply marked the life of Soraya, who was left with the epithet of ““the princess with sad eyes”. Despite the luxuries and fame that surrounded her life, her story became a symbol of the tragedy that can arise in even the most privileged relationships.
The divorce not only left scars on Soraya, but also on the Shah, who, years later, acknowledged that his relationship with her was one of the most significant of his life.
What happened to Soraya, the wife of the Shah of Iran?
Despite having tried to rebuild his life, it is said that Soraya could never overcome sadness of having renounced his great love. Finally, Princess Soraya died in Paris on October 25, 2001. The Shah of Iran left this world 20 years earlier, in Cairo.
