Shahnaz Pahlavi (Persian: شهناز پهلوی, born 27 October 1940) is the first child of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his first wife, Princess Fawzia of Egypt.[1]

Shahnaz Pahlavi
Princess Shahnaz in 1967
Born (1940-10-27) 27 October 1940 (age 83)
Tehran, Imperial State of Iran
Spouse
  • (m. 1957; div. 1964)
  • (m. 1971; died 2014)
Issue
  • Zahra Mahnaz Zahedi
  • Keykhosrow Jahanbani
  • Fawzia Jahanbani
HousePahlavi
FatherMohammad Reza Pahlavi
MotherFawzia of Egypt

Early life and education edit

Shahnaz Pahlavi was born in Tehran on 27 October 1940.[2] She is the only child of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his first wife Princess Fawzia.[3][4] Shahnaz is the half-sister of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi, Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi II and Princess Leila Pahlavi – the four children of the Shah by his third wife, Farah Pahlavi.[5] Her maternal grandparents were King Fuad I and Queen Nazli of Egypt; and her paternal grandparents were Reza Shah and Queen Tadj ol-Molouk of Iran. She is also the niece of King Farouk I of Egypt and thus a cousin of the last Egyptian king, Fuad II.[6]

Shahnaz Pahlavi was educated in a Belgian boarding school, the Lycée Léonie de Waha, in Liège and then in Switzerland.[7]

Personal life edit

Her father had plans for Shahnaz's marriage with King Faisal of Iraq which was not materialized due to her unwillingness.[8] Her first marriage, at age sixteen, was to Ardeshir Zahedi on 11 October 1957, at Golestan Palace in Tehran.[1][7] He was one-time Iranian foreign minister and twice Iranian ambassador to the United States (1957–64 and 1972–79).[7][9] Zahedi and she first met in Germany in 1955.[7] The couple have one daughter, Princess (styled "Vala Gohari") Mahnaz Zahedi (born 2 December 1958).[10] They divorced in 1964.

Shahnaz later married Khosrow Jahanbani in February 1971 at the Iranian Embassy, Paris.[11] Their marriage lasted until Jahanbani's death in April 2014. They have one son, Keykhosrow (born 20 November 1971), and one daughter, Fawzia (born 1973).

During her father's reign, Shahnaz had investments in agricultural enterprises and assembly plants of Honda bicycles and motorcycles.[12]

Later years edit

Since the Iranian Revolution Shahnaz Pahlavi has lived in Switzerland.[5] She has Swiss citizenship.[2] In December 2013 Shahnaz Pahlavi was granted Egyptian citizenship by the Egyptian government.[2]

Honours edit

Ancestry edit

Gallery edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Royal Beauty: Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi (1960's/70's)". Iranian. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "تابعیت مصری برای شهناز پهلوی، نخستین فرزند شاه سابق ایران". BBC (in Persian). 11 December 2013. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  3. ^ Diedre Charmody (27 July 1973). "Nixon forth to see Shah". The Leader Post. New York. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  4. ^ "A quick look at the Shah's life". Lawrence Journal. Associated Press. 28 July 1980. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Shah's daughter 'could not stand' exile". BBC. 12 June 2001. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  6. ^ "Ashraf Pahlavi: Portrait of a Persian Princess". payvand.com. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d "Only child of Shah of Iran will marry in simple rites". Ocala Star Banner. Tehran. Associated Press. 10 October 1957. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  8. ^ Banafsheh Keynoush (2016). Saudi Arabia and Iran. Friends or Foes?. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 68. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-58939-2. ISBN 978-1-137-58939-2. S2CID 156413085.
  9. ^ "Iran Shah's daughter to wed engineer in simple ceremony". Lewiston Evening Journal. Tehran. Associated Press. 10 October 1957. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  10. ^ "Milestones, Dec. 15, 1958". Time. 15 December 1958. Archived from the original on 31 January 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  11. ^ "Centers of Power in Iran" (PDF). CIA. May 1972. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  12. ^ "105 Iranian films said controlled by royal family". The Leader Post. Tehran. Associated Press. 22 January 1979. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
  13. ^ Pinterest

External links edit