Soraya Estafandiary: Queen and later Princess of Iran (1932-2001)


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soraya said:
I do agree with you samaa.
Princess Soraya was an absolute beauty.She was unique.Fawzia was a stunning beauty too.
Farah was also beautiful but she is not as beautiful as Soraya and Fawzia.
If I have to rank them ,Soraya is number one,then number two is Fawzia then Farah.Farah became more beautiful when she gets older.
Concerning the shah's love for Soraya,I don't think it was fake.
If he didn't love her that much,I highly doubt he will have waited many years before divorcing her.It's only because Soraya was unable to give him a heir that he divorced.
I don't understand how some can compare love simply by looking at pictures.:whistling:
If there was any sadness it can simply be explained by the fact that there was no baby coming.Nobody is totally happy when he/she is facing infertility problems.The situation is even worse when you are a sovereign.
I can't imagine how hard it was to deal with the situation when all the world knew that there was something was going wrong(infertility)and that you have to find a solution.
Though,I do like Farah a lot and I don't deny her qualities,I always thought that she was in an uncomfortable situation.Afer all,the Shah married her only because he wanted a male heir to the throne.May be they finally fell in love but I have serious doubt that the Shah loved her since the begining.
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Soraya was beautiful but to rank the three wives of the Shah is like putting them in a beauty pageant. For you Soraya was the most beautiful outside physically but Farah may have also been beautiful inside and that would have compensated for everything -About the baby and Soraya I have heard a rumour that her mother could not conceive until she was thirty and that she had asked they wait another few years - hoping that Soraya may have taken after her. No doctor-especially those in London actually found her infertile-it will always remain a mystery as to why she did not have an heir. In any case it was sad as it is in all disssolutions of marriage-Soraya's beauty has become the stuff of legends.
I think the Shah ;loved Farah for giving him the heir he sought and gradually grew to love her enormously.But the history of it has none of the romance that Soraya's had yes I agree.
 
May 4th 1972

lucien said:
The Italian justice department will re/open the case in which an Italian passenger DC 9-15 aircraft exploded mid air in 1980 en route from Bologna to Palermo.

Three weeks after the accident the wreck of a Libyan fighter aircraft was found nearby.The reason for the disaster had never been cleared,and many believed it must have been due to either a US or a French missile,fired while chasing the Lybian.Nothing was clear.

Untill recently as former Italian president Cossiga said the air disaster happened due to a french missile.Reason for the justice department to now re-open the case.

What it has to do with dear sad Soraya.Franco Indovina was on board the DC9 and was killed.
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It was May 4th ,1972 on a DC 8 crashed in Palermo with 111 other passengers on board that Franco Indovina[who was married with two daughters] was on.In 1962 Soraya almost married Gunther Sachs but he married Bardot.Then came Maximillian Schell & Richard Harris as good friends.
 
I think her wedding dress is most beautiful. And their (Soraya and the Shah) pictures together look like they were happy and in love. I wonder how old is Soraya when she married the Shah?
 
ellecherie said:
I think her wedding dress is most beautiful. And their (Soraya and the Shah) pictures together look like they were happy and in love. I wonder how old is Soraya when she married the Shah?
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She was 18. She was born in June 1932 and married in February 1951.
 
ellecherie said:
I think her wedding dress is most beautiful. And their (Soraya and the Shah) pictures together look like they were happy and in love. I wonder how old is Soraya when she married the Shah?
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Soraya's wedding dress is indeed beautiful but you have to take into consideration that at that time their wedding was altogether too extravagant.[orgiastic extravagance that the people payed for] At the same time Evita was in Argentina spending like the Shah and Soraya without being accountable to the people-I think only they know if they were actually happy and in love.
Soraya's train on the strapless Dior wedding creation reminds me of Diana's train on her wedding dress - I think these two had the longest trains on their gowns.Like Diana, Soraya had not hit twenty years of age. She was very young.In a way she was immature to understand the scope of what she was getting into.
 
It's such a pity she didn't remain Shah's wife,it's only due to infertility problems.Sometimes I suppose the things would have turned differently if she had given birth to a kid and remained in her place.The latter tragedy in Shah's family and revolution marked Shah's family,he desperately wanted to have a male heir,but finally all his hopes had been crushed by revolution.I think he could have thought about his efforts in vain and that he did regret his divorce from Soraya.It was not a simple matter,that after divorce she changed religion,having become catholic.
 
She was a beautiful but sad Princess.
 
Soraya

Hi !

I'm wondering after watching a movie on Soraya what's happened to feelings of the Shah for her ?
Everybody knows hiw wedding with Farah Diba but what was his feelings ?
 
Came across Soraya because of her wedding dress, also she had one of the best engagement rings I have ever seen. She was a beautiful but sad Princess but unlike other women who couldn't produce the desired heir, she at least wasn't mistreated by her husband who continued to love her and want to stay married to her. She did have striking looks but imo they are a little too harsh for my taste. Fawziah was the prettiest.
I like Soraya's wedding dress despite how over the top it is, I especially like the train and think it is one of the best I have seen. In the pictures of her without the sweater and her sitting down, the dress looks gorgeous.
 
It's difficult to know the feelings of other people. Often, people aren't sure of them, themselves.
 
My grandmother was 22 when the shah got married to soraya, and she and her family had the privilege of attending the wedding because of their social status. My grandmother said all her and her friends could talk about was the wedding that year. Of all the wives, my grandmother said soraya had the best wedding dress and looked absolutely beautiful. However, she said that soraya was the most anti social, and that she had only few relatives frequent the palaces to visit her. I wish I could live in Iran when it was going through all the western change, Iran looks so bleak nowadays
 
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Well, I dont think Soraya is THAT pretty. I actually think Fawzia>Farah>Soraya. But Soraya did have the best wedding dress.

Did she stay in touch with The Shah after the divorce? She must be heartbroken when shah passed away... I also wondered if the shah think of her before his death.
 
@ christie: I agree with you,for me Fawzia is also the most beautiful Queen,while Farah was the most educated, commited Queen who still does a lot for Iranians in exile!

Soraya looks a very much like an Italian film star from the 50ies to me-she also played in some films,but they were not that good unfortunately... (you can find them on youtube-at least some short clips!)

Soraya is said to be the big love of the Shah, they only separated because she was unable to produce an heir, what a tragic story!I have heard that they were still in contact after the divorce and as some ppl say he never stopped loving her and watched all of her films...this must have been true love!
Nevertheless I am sure that the shah also had great admiration and love for Farah Diba, only that he loved her in a different way than Soraya.Farah Dibah was respected for her hard work and great intelligence, she is still adored by many Iranians today.
Soraya was very glamourous, especially on her special day! Her wedding dress was so dramatic and spectacular,it was truly breathtaking!!! I am sure she also had a good personality,but I do not know her:)
 
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^ Soraya looks kinda like Sophie Loren... Not a fan of that kind of sultry look though.
 
Yes, I also think she looks like Sophie Loren :)
Sophia Loren and Soraya had great curves, I wish I had just a little bit more of their figure!
They looked both very feminine and attractive, Sophia Loren is a smart woman and talented actress and Soraya was charming and pretty too.
 
christythedreamer said:
Well, I dont think Soraya is THAT pretty. I actually think Fawzia>Farah>Soraya. But Soraya did have the best wedding dress.

Did she stay in touch with The Shah after the divorce? She must be heartbroken when shah passed away... I also wondered if the shah think of her before his death.
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Yes they stayed in touch with each other and the saw each other mostly in French riviera, Except for the time that Soraya lived with Italian director Franco Indovina ( who resembled the shah) .
Soaraya came to Cairo to see The Shah but the Shah said he would meet her when he got better ( maybe he didn't want to hurt Farah) but he never got better and he died in Cairo.
 
Princess Xenia said:
Yes they stayed in touch with each other and the saw each other mostly in French riviera, Except for the time that Soraya lived with Italian director Franco Indovina ( who resembled the shah) .
Soaraya came to Cairo to see The Shah but the Shah said he would meet her when he got better ( maybe he didn't want to hurt Farah) but he never got better and he died in Cairo.
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Alas... Soraya had the saddest life ever...
 
Hello, I recently saw a movie on Her. It was produced about ten years ago. (Made in Italy) Has anyone seen it? If so would you say it was fairly accurate?
 
Loyalist said:
Hello, I recently saw a movie on Her. It was produced about ten years ago. (Made in Italy) Has anyone seen it? If so would you say it was fairly accurate?
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What was the name of the film please?? I am currently reading a book about the Shah and from a historical perspective am trying to teach myself about all the images of the Shah and Farah Diba and the hostage situation I recall seeing from my youth (I am American) I never knew there was a film about Soraya!!
 
Andolini said:
What was the name of the film please?? I am currently reading a book about the Shah and from a historical perspective am trying to teach myself about all the images of the Shah and Farah Diba and the hostage situation I recall seeing from my youth (I am American) I never knew there was a film about Soraya!!
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On YouTube you can it under the title Princess Soraya. If that doesn't work let me know and I'll e-mail you a link
 
Loyalist said:
Hello, I recently saw a movie on Her. It was produced about ten years ago. (Made in Italy) Has anyone seen it? If so would you say it was fairly accurate?
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I have seen it. Can't say for sure everything was accurate, but the way they depicted and portrait the Shah was good. I have great respects for him and he was not a dictator in my opinion, but I have to say that he was rather a spoiled person and was under much influence of his mother and twin sister.
 
Princess Xenia said:
I have seen it. Can't say for sure everything was accurate, but the way they depicted and portrait the Shah was good. I have great respects for him and he was not a dictator in my opinion, but I have to say that he was rather a spoiled person and was under much influence of his mother and twin sister.
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The villain in the story was a woman named Princess Sharim. I couldn't find anything on her. Was she a real person or invented to trump up drama?
 
Loyalist said:
The villain in the story was a woman named Princess Sharim. I couldn't find anything on her. Was she a real person or invented to trump up drama?
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I think princess Ashraf...
 
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