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Soraya, the Queen with emerald green eyes
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They say her beauty was legendary, with eyes the color of the prairies of northern Iran, that people adored her, simply adored her with no reservations. Yet, after she left Iran, there were no traces of her anywhere, except in some European magazines drawn to her by her beauty, depicting her here and there at jet set gatherings. They say she was not too sociable when the queen of Iran, not too active except for a couple of charities that she was involved in. She published a couple of books about her memoir after her divorce. Nothing extraordinary, but with some innocent remarks about her understanding of what was going on. In her book, she complains about court intrigues, surprisingly, admiring Princess Ashraf who had always been portrayed as her avid enemy. Instead, she mildly attacks Princess Shams and her husband. At that time, the media constantly pointed to Princess Ashraf''s intrigues for the queen's inability to produce heirs. But Soraya negates this in her book. She was obviously critical of the Shah for divorcing her because of his personal desire to propagate the dynasty with his own off spring. Indirectly, she questions his love by asking, if you truly love someone, NOTHING! matters. Couldn't he select one of his brothers or his own daughter as his successor? Maybe at the time, he really couldn't. He did not have any power whatsoever. After their divorce, she was not a trouble maker. She stayed friendly with her ex-husband. It is said she had sent him a bouquet of flowers when hospitalized in New York.
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Later, she played in a few unsuccessful movies. She always wanted to be a movie star, which she admits to in her book. The only real love in her life, after her divorce, was a well-known Italian. But, a few weeks after announcing their marriage plan, he was killed in a plain crash. Soraya was devastated for a long time after that, but life went on and I believe she became interested in antiques which kept her busy wondering around Europe for a while. She never felt happiness from then on.
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Soraya died on Thursday, October 25, 2001 apparently from natural causes in her apartment in Paris at the age of 69. Some say at the age of 67, because it is said her date of birth was changed when she married the Shah of Iran. She was the daughter of a famous Bakhtiari father who served as a diplomat in the Iranian foreign service and a German mother. She only had a younger brother Bijan, who is living in Cologn in Germany. He made no comments about her sister's sudden death except saying "after her, I don't have anyone to talk to." Soraya's mother was born in Russia. Her maternal grandfather was also born in Russia and was an aristocrat during the Russian Empire. Frantz Karl, Soraya's maternal grandfather was a successful businessman working as the representative of a famous Russian chemical and electrical production firm. He married Alma Zoomer who bore him three children including, Soraya's mother, Ava.
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In February 12th, 1951, Soraya married Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, at the age of 18. The marriage ended in divorce. Soraya left Iran on February 13th, 1957. Her body will be cremated in Paris.
She will be remembered as the fairy tale queen of Persia with emerald green eyes.
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