Queen Fawzia of Iran née Princess of Egypt (1921-2013)

[Blueice]

I have found this photo showing a very beautiful Royal Lady...Does anyone know more about her? Thank you.


Empress Fawzia of Iran
Original caption: Portrait of Queen Fawzieh of Iran

Princess Fawzieh of Eqypt

Princess Fawzieh of Eqypt, eldest daughter of the King of Egypt, recently married the Shah of Iran. The Shah abdicated today and will be succeeded by his 21 year old son, the Crown Prince.

A part of a mystery solved...

Pictures from http://pro.corbis.com/

 

[madonna23]

here's a link

http://www.egy.com/landmarks/00-03-23.shtml

 

[Layla]

Looks like the image does not always come up. Therefore I have downloaded the pics with lower resolution from the site. To get a better resolution, please visit

http://empireofiran.tripod.com/fawzia

The pics are numbered 1 to 24 I believe.
Here is the first again.

 

[Layla]

Princess Fawzia with daughter Shahnaz and the Shah....

 

[Layla]

1. On the cover of Life Magazine 1942
2. On a visit to Cairo in 1945
3. Stamp

 

[Asma2]

Does anyone know, why she was not allowed to see her daughter until her 18s?

 

[Layla]

Asma2: I checked around to see why Shahnaz was not allowed to see her mother until she turned 18, and was told that it was most probably because of Princess Ashraf (the Shah's twin). I don't know if you are aware, but one of the reasons why Fawzia wanted a divorce was because she was miserable in Tehran. Some royal princesses did not like her (most probably Ashraf and her siblings) and unfortunately Fawzia could not handle them. Fawzia is known as "The Sad Queen" of IranThe other major reason was because she did not produce an heir or at least that's what was announced to the people. The same "royal princesses" (add to them Princess Shahnaz, Fawzia's daughter) also harrassed Soraya (the Shah's second wife). Anyway..... to cut a long story short, possibly Ashraf had something to do with Shahnaz not seeing her mother until she was able to make up her own mind when she turned 18.

Attached is a picture of one of the gifts given to the Shah (by the French government) on the occassion of his wedding to Fawzia. More information is available at Radio One Global :: Za Newsletter

 

[FNJ]

sister of former king of egypt and former wife of shah of iran. one daughter by shah. princess shahnaz. lives in switzerland with second husband. does anyone have current news on princess shahnaz?

 

[thaliacarey]

Princess Shahnaz had married the prime minister of Iran, Ardeshir Zahedi. Go to the site www.zahedi.info to see pictures of their marriage, etc. and other such information. They had one daughter together who is currently not married. They all live in Switzerland.

 

[madonna23]

She had such an otherworldly look to her! I'm glad she was in the spotlight in a previous era because had she been an empress or princess in this day and age she would have probably ruined her perfect face with plastic surgery!

i think someone else said that she makes all the other arab queens/princesses look so vulgar and that's the truth...she's so beautiful but it all seems so effortless.

 

[pdas1201]

Her Royal Highness Princess Fawzia bint Fuad of Egypt was born on November 5, 1921. She is the Princess of Egypt and the former Empress of Iran. Princess Fawzia is the daughter of King Fuad I of Egypt and Queen Nazli Sabri of Egypt. She married Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran. Princess Fawzia is the sister of King Farouk I of Egypt who abdicated in 1952. Princess Fawzia was born at Ras al-Tine Palace in Alexandria, Egypt. Her nickname was Wuzzy. At one point, Fawzia is known have been one of the most beautiful women in the world.

Princess Fawzia married His Imperial Majesty Mohamed Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran (1919 -1980) on March 16, 1939 in a magnificent ceremony in Cairo. She later divorced on November 17, 1948 the Shah of Iran. The Imperial couple had one daughter, Princess Shahnaz.

On March 28, 1949 in Cairo, Princess Fawzia married Colonel Ismail Husain Shirin Bey (1919-1994), the onetime Minister of War, and had two more children, Husain and Nadia.

Fawzia in 1941

 

[pdas1201]

Wedding to Reza Shah Pehlavi (later Emperor of Iran) on March 30, 1939

1. Wedding Portrait; L-R: Queen Farida and King Farouk of Egypt, Princess Fawzia, Crown Prince Reza Shah Pehlavi, and Queen Mother Nazli

2. Wedding Banquet; L-R: Princess Fawzia, Crown Prince Reza Shah Pehlavi, and Queen Farida

 

[pdas1201]

Princess Fawzia (fiancee of Reza Shah Pehlavi) in 1939

2. Princess Fawzia with Queen Farida of Egypt at the opening of a French sculpture exhibition in Cairo.

 

[salma]

1. Princes Fawzia of Egypt in the wedding of King Farouk and Queen Narriman.

all pics from britishpathe:

 

[salma]

With her husband, Mohammed Reza Sha Pahlavi, and her daughter, Princess Shahnaz. January 29, 1942.

 

[salma]

more pics of Queen Fawzia:

portraits

 

[salma]

with the Shah and Princess Shahnaz.

 

[salma]

Pics to Princess Fawzia, and stamp conmemorate the wedding of Mohammed Reza Pahlevi with Princess Fawzia of Egypt:

 

[salma]

Fawzia with her second husband, Ismali Chirine.

 

[salma]

1.Sha and Empresss Fawzia arrive to Jorramshahr (Persia) with Queen mother of Egypt, Nazil and Fawzia´s sister, Princess Faiza; after their wedding ceremony in Egypt.
First row: Queen Nazil and Queen mother of Persia, Taj-ol-Muluk.
Second row: Fawzia, Princeses Sham and Ashraf of Persia, and Princess Faiza.
2. Sha and Empress in home.

 

[salma]

All pics from British Pathe:

Queen Fawzia, then Princess, in Egypt.

 

[salma]

Princess Shahnaz (daughter of Sha and Empress Fawzia) with Prince Shahram, eldest son of Princess Ashraf.

Pic from memoirs of Princess Ashraf

 

[pdas1201]

Empress Fawzia

She looks like Janet Leigh in the first pic

 

[pdas1201]

1. Princess Fawzia (2nd from R) with her siblings and her mother, Queen Nazli.
2. Fawzia (center) with her mother Nazli (left) and her sister-in-law Farida (right)

 

[cute_girl]

1-3. some portraits of princess Fawzia
4. with daughter princess Shahnaz
5. with princess Shams(shah's sister) and her second husband

 

[pdas1201]

1. Fawzia (R) with her sisters and mother in 1939.
2 & 3. Princess Fawzia with her husband Shah Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi and daughter, Shahnaz
4. The couple on their honeymoon
5. Imperial Marriage

 

[EmpressRouge]

Something I've noticed: in almost every article written Fawzia and the Shah , it always seems to cite lack of a male heir as the reason for their divorce. However, I would think otherwise. Yes, she was did not give birth to a son, but she later remarried and had more children, clearly indicating that she was not past child bearing days and could clearly produce more children. It was well known that it was an arranged marriage and Fawzia hated the Iranian court and longed to return to Egypt. I was reading that when the Iranian ambassador came with loads of crown jewels to offer her marriage, Fawzia looked down upon the jewels. IMO, they were a mismatched couple from the beginning whose marriage was troubled, and the lack of male heir was just an excuse. Luckily they found other loves (well, maybe not for the Shah and Soraya).

 

[Queen Malka]

They were mismatched, but according to Princess Ashraf's bio, she claims that both couples were smitten with each other in the begining and was certain that they were head over heels. But Fawzia often complained of the modest lifestyle of Pahlavis, and was often bored. It was a few years later, close to the time of King Faroukh's coup that both royal families had a feud (Partially because Ashraf passed on Faroukh's sexual advances) and with Faroukh's insistence, Fawzia's trips to Egypt seemed longer and longer, until one day (contrary to popular belief) she asked for a divorce.
So it was never the issue of an heir, as most sources claim, but simply a matter of family honor and pride. But yes, they did find other loves.

 

[cute_girl]

Something I've noticed:

I've never heard of lack of a male heir as a reason of the divorce,instead everywhere I've read that it was Ashraf who played a big role in the matter.she had a lover who was from a low class family and Fawzia used to scorn her on that,Ashraf also revealed or made up some stories about her brother being a homosexual or sth like that,the two had so many faightings,even physically.it is said that Ashrf was jealous of her because Fawzia was pretty and a queen to be but Ashraf with all the efforts was ugly and hadnt managed to get a husband from a royal family.

 

[EmpressRouge]

I think Ashraf also had similar jealousy problems with Soraya too.