1. Soraya… A Lost Love A fairy tale with a sad ending; a woman whose convictions on the sanctity of marriage made quite an impression on me…

2. SorayaEsfandiary (1932 - 2001) was the second wife and Queen consort of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran

4. Chosen from a photograph at the age of 16 to perpetuate the Pahlavi Dynasty, In the summer of 1950 she was introduced to Mohammad Reza Pahlevi. They fell in love and the engagement was celebrated in October. Soraya marries the Shah of Iran in Teheran in 1951.

5. Soraya, the princess with the sad eyes . A sudden illness prevented the wedding from taking place on the set date; unknown to anyone this illness had made her infertile.

6. The shah & Soraya, in happier times

10. Unable to provide an heir to the peacock throne, the royal couple was forced to divorce amidst the country’s political intrigues and international crisis due to the nationalisation of the Iranian Oil. Granted the style and title ,Her Imperial Highness the Princess Soraya of Iran, the former queen moved to France.

11. She started a movie career and fell I love with an Italian director, Franco Indovina…

13. With her brother Bijan in later years

14. After the death of Indovina in a plane crash, she spent the remainder of her life unhappily, by her own admission, wandering through Europe, buying antiques and couture, appearing at social events in a desultory fashion. Grief stricken, Soraya died in 2001 at the age of 69.

15. Her body was taken to Germany on Friday 16th of November and buried in her family tomb in the cemetery of Westfriedhof, Munich.As a young girl, Soraya had pictures of some movie stars framed, in addition to a photo of the young Shah. She would tell all her friends and cousins that one day she will either become an actress or marry the king. Both aspirations became realities but none brought her lasting happiness.

16. An Italian-German television film on Soraya's life is currently being shot in Turkey and Bulgaria with Italian model Anna Valle in the title role and German actor of Turkish descent, Erol Sander, as the Shah of Iran which confirms the fascination of the former Princess' destiny and extraordinary beauty till exert on filmmakers to this day. Torn between Love and Duty : The Shah (Erol Sander) and Soraya (Anna Valle)

17. Farah ( Diba) Pahlavi, Empress of Iran is the widow and third wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (the late Shah of Iran) and the only Shahbanu (Empress) of modern Iran, and the woman who replaced Soraya.

18. The Shah’s children by his 3rd wife , Farah, ~ Leila, Ali Reza,Farahnaz & Reza ~ Obituary ~ JUNE 2001 Princess Leila Pahlavi, 31, The youngest daughter of the late Shah of Iran was found dead in a bedroom at a London hotel.

19. The former Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi; with his family

21. Trinityblu 2009