Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm
Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky. Listener discretion advised. Sria s
Speaker 1: Fundari Baktyari was the last passenger on the plane from
Speaker 1: Rome to disembark. It was October seventh, nineteen fifty and
Speaker 1: the sun was just beginning to set behind the western
Speaker 1: skyline of Tehran. As soon as Soria's feet hit the tarmac,
Speaker 1: she was quickly ushered into a waiting limousine. Soria and
Speaker 1: her father drove through the city to the house that
Speaker 1: they would be staying at for the duration of their
Speaker 1: trip to Iran's capital. Sria gazed out the window and
Speaker 1: tried to imagine what her next day would look like.
Speaker 1: Despite the fatigue she felt from the long travel day,
Speaker 1: she was too excited about being presented to the Iranian
Speaker 1: court and the Sha to quiet her mind. Just a
Speaker 1: few months ago, she was a normal German Iranian girl
Speaker 1: who had just graduated from finishing school. Now she was
Speaker 1: a contender to be the Shah's wife, the Empress of Iran.
Speaker 1: Once at the house, Sria began to unpack her trunks.
Speaker 1: As she put her clothes away, she admired the dresses
Speaker 1: that she had bought in Paris. Which one should she
Speaker 1: wear tomorrow to be presented to the court. Maybe the
Speaker 1: blue one, but with what shoes? Oh? Certainly the white
Speaker 1: kitten heels, very classy. But would the Sha like this outfit?
Speaker 1: Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the bedroom door.
Speaker 1: Soriah opened the door to a servant delivering a message.
Speaker 1: Would it be possible for miss Esfandiari to visit the
Speaker 1: Dowager Empress this evening? She has arranged a small dinner
Speaker 1: at which only the innermost family will be present. With
Speaker 1: that generous invitation, which was more of a summons really
Speaker 1: than an invite, Sriah quickly got ready and left for
Speaker 1: the Dowager Empress's residence. Once there, soria was welcomed into
Speaker 1: the Dowager Empress's drawing room, where the Dowager and the
Speaker 1: Shah's siblings greeted their guests with pleasantries and polite conversation,
Speaker 1: But the room fell silent when it was announced His
Speaker 1: Majesty the Shah, the man who had summoned Soriya all
Speaker 1: the way from London, strode into the room. Confidently Mohammed Razashah,
Speaker 1: dressed in his favorite uniform of the General of the
Speaker 1: Iranian Air Force went around the room, greeting his mother
Speaker 1: and his siblings. In her second autobiography, Soriah recalled quote,
Speaker 1: I found him imposing, magnificent, splendid. I was mesmerized. He
Speaker 1: was superb looking, he was handsome and knew how to smile.
Speaker 1: I freely admit that it was love at first sight.
Speaker 1: With the ultimate guest of honor now in attendance, the
Speaker 1: party moved into the dining room. Breaking protocol, the Shah
Speaker 1: beckoned Soriah to sit next to him. Despite their over
Speaker 1: fifteen year age difference, there was an ease to their
Speaker 1: conversation as the pair chatted about their childhoods, both spent
Speaker 1: at boarding schools in Switzerland. Soria later recalled that quote,
Speaker 1: without our having said anything of importance to each other,
Speaker 1: a confidence and tenderness had passed between us. There was
Speaker 1: as certainly an unspoken connection between the two. Following after dinner,
Speaker 1: games and tea, Soriah was finally able to retire to
Speaker 1: her lodgings. She longed just to close her eyes and
Speaker 1: finally lay down after an extremely long day, but at
Speaker 1: almost midnight the door bell rang. Soriah saw her father
Speaker 1: looking rather frazzled. Soria the Shah liked you very much.
Speaker 1: Are you willing to marry him? Astonished Siriah asked, do
Speaker 1: I have to decide now? Her father affirmed yes, he
Speaker 1: would like to announce your engagement tomorrow. Surprising even herself,
Speaker 1: Soriah quickly replied, tell the Shaw that I accept, I
Speaker 1: will be his wife. The love between soria and the Sha,
Speaker 1: the love that first ignited that October night in nineteen fifty,
Speaker 1: was and blossomed quickly into a marriage and partnership. Their
Speaker 1: romance was like something out of a fairy tale. It
Speaker 1: seemed as though they were destined to be together. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: the almost divine nature of their love could not overcome
Speaker 1: the harsh reality they would face during their marriage. No
Speaker 1: matter how idyllic their life together seemed, there was always
Speaker 1: something laying in weight that, once revealed, would send it
Speaker 1: all toppling down. In fact, this would be a theme
Speaker 1: of Soriah's life. No matter what happiness she seemed to achieve,
Speaker 1: it would all vanish in a matter of time. Her
Speaker 1: unfortunate turns of fate would be perfectly encompassed by her
Speaker 1: nickname and the title of her second autobiography, Princess with
Speaker 1: the Sad Eyes, was the nickname entrapped in her her
Speaker 1: Palace of Loneliness. I'm Danash Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood.
Speaker 1: Before I dive in, I want to mention that for
Speaker 1: today's episode, I relied on an uncommon collection of sources.
Speaker 1: Soriah wrote two separate autobiographies, one in nineteen sixty four
Speaker 1: and one Palace of Loneliness in nineteen ninety two, both
Speaker 1: of which spoke of her experiences married to the Shah,
Speaker 1: but through the lens of very different periods in her life.
Speaker 1: To have one autobiography to use as a Noble Blood
Speaker 1: source is unusual, but not terribly out of the ordinary.
Speaker 1: To have two is incredibly rare. So much of what
Speaker 1: I talk about today comes from Soriah herself, so be
Speaker 1: mindful of any potential biases that obviously come with one's
Speaker 1: telling of this her own story. From the moment she
Speaker 1: was born in the summer of nineteen thirty two, soria
Speaker 1: Esfundari Bakhtiari seemed poised to lead an exceptional life. Child
Speaker 1: of a German mother and Iranian father, Sarria grew up
Speaker 1: with a dual identity shared by very few. Sarria's father
Speaker 1: was a prominent member of the Baktyari tribe of southern Iran,
Speaker 1: so her family spent many years living in her ancestral
Speaker 1: homelands of Isfan. In her tween and teenage years, Sria's
Speaker 1: family moved to her mother's homeland of Germany, and Sara
Speaker 1: herself spent many of her most formative years at boarding
Speaker 1: schools in Switzerland. The duality of her heritage and her
Speaker 1: upbringing was difficult for the young Saraya, as she struggled
Speaker 1: to identify with either aspect of herself, and while she
Speaker 1: certainly identified with her Iranian heritage, she did harbor Eurocentric
Speaker 1: tendencies and frankly racist views about Iran. As empress, she
Speaker 1: would later write quote, the feeling of being both Christian
Speaker 1: and Muslim, but at the same time of being neither
Speaker 1: one nor the other has engraved in my flesh two
Speaker 1: divergent poles between which my existence unfolded. The one is
Speaker 1: methodically European, the other savagely Persian. Ironic that Siah would
Speaker 1: become the Empress of Persia. Soria was an undoubtedly gorgeous woman.
Speaker 1: Her piercing light blue gray eyes were striking against her
Speaker 1: dark black hair and fair skin. Imagine young Sophia Iren
Speaker 1: and young Elizabeth Taylor combined and you get Soria. So
Speaker 1: it was no wonder that she received many a marriage proposal,
Speaker 1: especially from men from prominent families in Isfan, but her
Speaker 1: parents themselves an unusual love match, protected her from those proposals.
Speaker 1: At this point, Sarah had just completed finishing school in
Speaker 1: Switzerland and desperately wished to become an actress, but her parents,
Speaker 1: like many, chafed at the idea of their daughter becoming
Speaker 1: an artist. As a compromised, sixteen year old Sarah set
Speaker 1: off for London, where she would stay with her cousins
Speaker 1: to better improve her English. It would be these cousins
Speaker 1: in London who would change the trajectory of Soria's life forever.
Speaker 1: One of these cousins, named Guidars, was obsessed with photography
Speaker 1: and asked to take Sarria's picture one afternoon. He had
Speaker 1: Sarah pose all over their flat in front of their
Speaker 1: apartment building in a nearby park, really all over the place.
Speaker 1: A little suspicious, Sarah asked, what's going on, Gwidars. Usually
Speaker 1: you don't waste so much film? Gudars, deciding to tell
Speaker 1: a half truth, replied that their aunt in Tehran had
Speaker 1: asked for some new pictures of Soria. Who that woman was.
Speaker 1: Saya had no idea, but who is she to say
Speaker 1: no to getting to act like a model with her
Speaker 1: cousin For an afternoon. Later that week, her other cousin, Malikshah,
Speaker 1: asked her to accompany him to a dinner at the
Speaker 1: Iranian embassy there in London in honor of the Shah's sister,
Speaker 1: Princess Shams. Of course, Sarriyah would go, and, no surprise
Speaker 1: to the self important Saraya, Princess Shams took an immediate
Speaker 1: liking to her. At dinner, they chatted all night, and
Speaker 1: before Sarriah took her leave, Princess Shams squeezed her hand
Speaker 1: and asked, do you want to come with me tomorrow
Speaker 1: evening to the theater. From that night on, the two
Speaker 1: women became inseparable. They went out on the town together,
Speaker 1: and Shams even brought Sarria along to Paris with her
Speaker 1: for a three week stay. Little did Sria know that
Speaker 1: the Princess Shams had actually been dispatched to London by
Speaker 1: the Shah specifically to meet and vet Sria. The photos
Speaker 1: that Gwidars had taken were indeed for his aunt, but
Speaker 1: she had requested them so that she might show Sria
Speaker 1: to the Shah's mother, the Dowager Empress. The Dowager Empress,
Speaker 1: looking for a wife for the Shah, liked Soria's look
Speaker 1: and showed them to her son, Mohammed Rezashah had been
Speaker 1: divorced from his first wife for three years now, and
Speaker 1: despite having multiple mistresses, he had been lonely and was
Speaker 1: looking for his next wife. Intrigued by the pictures of Saya,
Speaker 1: he sent his younger sister to meet her. Although Shams
Speaker 1: had set out intentionally to evaluate whether or not the
Speaker 1: young woman was suitable marriage material for the Shah, she
Speaker 1: found herself genuinely enjoying Sarria and communicated her approval to
Speaker 1: her brother. Soon after arriving, Princess Shams officially floated the
Speaker 1: idea of marrying the Shah to Sarria. On their trip
Speaker 1: to Paris. While talking about her brother one afternoon, the
Speaker 1: princess casually said, of course, it would be fine if
Speaker 1: some young girls such as yourself were to be willing
Speaker 1: to share Mohammed Reza's life. While Sarria, having been told
Speaker 1: the true motivation behind her cousin's photographs, had inklings that
Speaker 1: that might be a possibility, Schams's comment made it all real.
Speaker 1: Shortly after that Paris trip, Rayah's father called to tell
Speaker 1: her that the Shah had requested that he presents Soria
Speaker 1: at court. Clearly, the Persian royal family was wasting no time.
Speaker 1: It was decided that Princess Shams, Sria, and Soria's father
Speaker 1: would depart for Iran promptly. After stopping over in Rome
Speaker 1: for a few days, where her father met them, Sarria
Speaker 1: and Princess Shams boarded their flight for Tehran early on
Speaker 1: October seventh, nineteen fifty. As soon as Sriah stepped off
Speaker 1: the plane, as told in the introduction of this episode,
Speaker 1: she was immediately swept up in the whirlwind of her
Speaker 1: new life in the Iranian court. Perhaps like most noble
Speaker 1: arranged marriages, Soria and the Shah used their engagement to
Speaker 1: get to know each other. They would go on picnic
Speaker 1: lunches together and steal private moments official functions. But unlike many,
Speaker 1: probably even most arranged royal couples, the two were genuinely
Speaker 1: quite enamored with each other. Their love was tested and
Speaker 1: ultimately proven when Soria fell ill with samonella poisoning just
Speaker 1: a few weeks before their wedding. The Shah visited his
Speaker 1: bedridden fiance every day, bringing her a gift with each trip.
Speaker 1: Sometimes the gift was just a bouquet of flowers or
Speaker 1: a gramophone record to entertain her, and sometimes it would
Speaker 1: be a stunning jewel or an exquisite piece of jewelry,
Speaker 1: like quote, a gold watch with a chiseled bird, set
Speaker 1: with rubies and emeralds. These gifts and the Shaw's consistent
Speaker 1: visits represented for Soria the depth of her future husband's dedication,
Speaker 1: and it endeared him to her more and more with
Speaker 1: each day. Fortunately, Soria's illness was proving persistent, and their
Speaker 1: original wedding day came and went with the future Empress
Speaker 1: still unwell. The Shah, hoping to get married as soon
Speaker 1: as possible, sent the nation's best doctors and nurses to
Speaker 1: his betrothed bedside. In January nineteen fifty one, after multiple
Speaker 1: months of bedterist for Soria, the doctors determined that the
Speaker 1: soon to be Empress was well enough to walk down
Speaker 1: the aisle and withstand the demanding ceremonies of a royal wedding.
Speaker 1: So on February twelfth, nineteen fifty one, Soria and the
Speaker 1: Shah were married. That morning, Sria donned her wedding dress,
Speaker 1: which weighed half of Soria's body weight thanks to the
Speaker 1: ten foot long train and a necklace and a diadem
Speaker 1: borrowed from Iran's collection of crown jewels. Doing her best
Speaker 1: to appear regal, the bride glided down a hallway decorated
Speaker 1: with orchids, cherry trees, and lilacs to join her fiance
Speaker 1: for the ceremony. When the officiating a mom asked the
Speaker 1: couple if they would like to take the other in marriage,
Speaker 1: Soriah could barely wait. Yes, she proclaimed, jumping in so
Speaker 1: fast as to almost speak over him. Yes. With the
Speaker 1: Shaw's firm but delighted confirmation, the lovebirds were officially wed,
Speaker 1: and the rest of their life together could begin. Soria
Speaker 1: and the Shaw's courtship and wedding had been almost storybook perfect,
Speaker 1: but the air of perfection and atmosphere of love had
Speaker 1: obscured for Soria the tense political landscape that was developing
Speaker 1: in Iran at that very moment, as briefly discussed in
Speaker 1: our earlier episode entitled The Dinner Party. At the end
Speaker 1: of the Iranian monarchy, oil was a precious resource for Iran,
Speaker 1: worth quite a bit of money, but from its discovery
Speaker 1: in the country up through the nineteen forties, the Anglo
Speaker 1: Iranian Oil Company essentially had a monopoly on the oil
Speaker 1: in the country. Because of how profitable oil was, many
Speaker 1: Iranians were upset that the British and not they were
Speaker 1: benefiting from their country's natural resource. The popular figurehead leading
Speaker 1: this movement to keep those profits in Iran and to
Speaker 1: nationalize Iran's oil was then parliament member Mohammed Mosdae, who
Speaker 1: also wanted to bring democracy to Iran. Masada's push for
Speaker 1: democracy threatened the Shah's grip on the country, as did
Speaker 1: the communist Tuda Party and the extremist Shia sects pushing
Speaker 1: for a theocracy, and the Shah did and to have
Speaker 1: the strongest argument for his own rule at that moment.
Speaker 1: In the late nineteen forties early nineteen fifties, as the
Speaker 1: country was facing an economic downturn because of the let's
Speaker 1: say uncertain political situation at home, Soraya and the Shah
Speaker 1: had to forego their European honeymoon, spending only two weeks
Speaker 1: at one of the Shah's villas north of Tehran on
Speaker 1: the Caspian Sea. Even then, the Shah was receiving memos
Speaker 1: and updates from his aids every day while they were
Speaker 1: on their honeymoon. It wouldn't even be a full week
Speaker 1: after they returned from the sea for that honeymoon bubble
Speaker 1: to officially burst. Just three days after they returned, the
Speaker 1: prime minister was assassinated by assailants connected to conservative Muslim militants.
Speaker 1: On top of throwing the country into disarray, the prime
Speaker 1: Minister's assassination made way for mass to rise to the
Speaker 1: seat of prime minister. Capitalizing on the moment, Masides set
Speaker 1: about initiating the nationalization of Iranian oil, which would eventually
Speaker 1: become one of the most consequential events in modern Iranian history. Understandably,
Speaker 1: the British and American governments were not thrilled with the
Speaker 1: nationalization of Iranian oil. That move not only would result
Speaker 1: in a Western company losing out on profit, but was
Speaker 1: also too close to communist ideology for comfort. Fearing that
Speaker 1: the nationalization of oil would facilitate the encroachment of the
Speaker 1: USSR on Iran. The UK and US tried to bargain
Speaker 1: with Masidae and the Iranian people, but Masiday wouldn't budge.
Speaker 1: It was nationalization or nothing. Simultaneously, the new Prime Minister
Speaker 1: moved to consolidate his power and maneuver the Shah out
Speaker 1: of any real role within the government. After months of
Speaker 1: political back and forth and major opposition from unsurprisingly the Shah,
Speaker 1: Massidas succeeded in nineteen fifty three in assuming powers that
Speaker 1: were once held by the ruler. The Shah had been
Speaker 1: relinquished to essentially a figurehead monarch. His advisers no longer
Speaker 1: visited him, and no one asked for his opinion on
Speaker 1: matters of state. The Shah, who had been raised and
Speaker 1: trained his whole life to be a head of state,
Speaker 1: only to have that taken away, sank into a deep depression.
Speaker 1: While navigating her new role as empress, learning to manage
Speaker 1: personalities within the palla Vi family, and trying to master
Speaker 1: the Farsi language, Soriah did her best to be a
Speaker 1: steadfast support to the Shah. During this time. She saw
Speaker 1: her ultimate duty as her husband's well being, so she
Speaker 1: made it her mission to bring him some relief, but
Speaker 1: there was little she could do to assuage the Shaw's
Speaker 1: paranoia and sense of hopelessness. She was stuck sleeping next
Speaker 1: to a man who barely smiled during the day and
Speaker 1: was always keeping a gun under his pillow at night.
Speaker 1: The Shah had warned Sria during their engagement that being
Speaker 1: empress was not all glitz and glamour. On a walk
Speaker 1: before their wedding, the Shah had said to his fiance, quote,
Speaker 1: don't imagine that I'm offering you an easy life, Sria.
Speaker 1: The duties that you must accept will be hard and wearisome.
Speaker 1: I hope you have no illusions on that score. Soria
Speaker 1: didn't realize just how hard and wearisome it actually would be.
Speaker 1: In early August nineteen fifty three, the Shah tried to
Speaker 1: make one last move to reclaim his power, and, with
Speaker 1: the support of the US in the UK, issued a
Speaker 1: proclamation calling for Masides resignation that he sent loyal army
Speaker 1: officers to execute. The attempted coup backfired, and the Shah
Speaker 1: had to flee the country immediately to avoid being arrested.
Speaker 1: At four in the morning, the Shah shook his wife
Speaker 1: awake and told her to pack up. They had to
Speaker 1: leave right now, Sayah. The Shah and two other close
Speaker 1: courtiers scrambled onto a small plane and quickly took off,
Speaker 1: fleeing Ran with no idea of when they would return.
Speaker 1: After stopping in Baghdad for a few days, the couple
Speaker 1: arrived in Rome, where from the seclusion of their hotel suite,
Speaker 1: they grappled with the fact that they were no longer royalty.
Speaker 1: In the afternoons, over their tea, they started putting together
Speaker 1: some sort of plan for a normal life. Maybe they
Speaker 1: could buy a bit of land in the US and
Speaker 1: lived there. Soria was starting to accept their fate as
Speaker 1: normal everyday people when the tide in Iran turned in
Speaker 1: late August nineteen fifty three, just a few weeks after
Speaker 1: the royal couple fled, the Iranian military, supported by the CIA,
Speaker 1: overthrew the prime Minister and called the Shah to return
Speaker 1: to Iran and his throne. With that dramatic reversal of fortune,
Speaker 1: the royal couple returned to Iran more powerful than ever
Speaker 1: and finally began living the luxurious courtly life that Sarria
Speaker 1: had once imagined for herself when she first became engaged.
Speaker 1: Siria threw masquerade balls and finally redid the Imperial residence
Speaker 1: with the help of a famed Parisian designer. She bought
Speaker 1: an all new wardrobe of the hottest styles and became
Speaker 1: the most important woman into Irand's social scene. They were
Speaker 1: living the life she had dreamed of. They had weathered
Speaker 1: the storm and now they were home free. But the
Speaker 1: thing that would really deprive Soria of her dreams had
Speaker 1: yet to rear its head. The chaos that had been
Speaker 1: Iran for the past three years had diverted attention from
Speaker 1: an important aspect of the royal couple's marriage children. It
Speaker 1: hadn't been clear that the Shah would ultimately remain in power,
Speaker 1: so why bother worrying about producing an air But since
Speaker 1: the monarchy had emerged in nineteen fifty three, not only
Speaker 1: intact but stronger than ever, it was time to get serious.
Speaker 1: And get serious the Shah and Soria did. When not
Speaker 1: working towards a child, the couple would fantasize about their baby,
Speaker 1: whom the Shah was certain would be a boy. Soria
Speaker 1: wished the same, but she was growing worried as she
Speaker 1: remained without child month after month, it soon became clear
Speaker 1: to Soria that the Shah was also becoming worried and
Speaker 1: a bit frustrated. The couple was scheduled to set off
Speaker 1: on a long overdue vacation across America and Europe that
Speaker 1: included Hollywood parties, waterskiing in Miami, and a dinner with
Speaker 1: Queen Elizabeth. But the trip was not just for pleasure.
Speaker 1: Right before the trip, the sha had made plans for
Speaker 1: Soria to see specialists about her fertility. They would stop
Speaker 1: in both New York and Boston to meet with doctors
Speaker 1: for a quote checkup. As Soria was eager to become
Speaker 1: a mother, she was more than ready to receive answers
Speaker 1: and hopefully reassurance that a baby was not far off.
Speaker 1: The issue of producing an air became that much more important.
Speaker 1: In Okat'burd nineteen fifty four, just days before they left
Speaker 1: for their trip, the Shah's younger brother, Alireza, the only
Speaker 1: person who could inherit the throne by Iranian law, died
Speaker 1: in a plane crash. Now it was imperative that Sriah
Speaker 1: produced not just a child, but a son. The survival
Speaker 1: of the Pahlavi dynasty depended on it. In her autobiographies,
Speaker 1: Soriah reflected on her trip to the US and Europe fondly.
Speaker 1: She spoke of the dresses she purchased, the amazing venues
Speaker 1: they stayed at, the celebrities they met, and the gifts
Speaker 1: they received. She made only scant mention of the doctor's
Speaker 1: appointments in New York and no mention of her time
Speaker 1: in Boston. But it was these appointments that marked an
Speaker 1: inflection point in her marriage to the Shah, as it
Speaker 1: was in Boston that they learned she would never be
Speaker 1: able to carry a child. This would be the thing
Speaker 1: that would ultimately keep Soriah from her happiness, that which
Speaker 1: would prevent soria from living with her true love in
Speaker 1: the royal court of her homeland. It had finally reared
Speaker 1: its head. Even if the two remained in love, the
Speaker 1: next three years of their marriage would always be tainted
Speaker 1: by the fact that soria could not produce an air.
Speaker 1: One day, while out on a walk together, Soriah had
Speaker 1: had enough, and she beseeched the Shah to change the
Speaker 1: constitution so that one of his half brothers could become
Speaker 1: his heir, something that was previously outlawed. Her husband responded
Speaker 1: by saying that this change would have to go through
Speaker 1: the Council of Wise Men, who might not accept it.
Speaker 1: But what if he offered he took another wife solely
Speaker 1: for the purpose of producing an air That way, Soria
Speaker 1: would still get to remain empress. Soria was beyond offended
Speaker 1: and rejected that offer outright. Instead, she offered to leave
Speaker 1: for Europe so that Mohammed Reza might convene the Counsel
Speaker 1: of Wise Men and they might avoid any awkwardness that
Speaker 1: would arise from their decision. The Shah thought that was
Speaker 1: a smart idea. It was then that they both knew,
Speaker 1: whether or not they would admit it, that their marriage
Speaker 1: was over. The Shah would sacrifice his love for his dynasty,
Speaker 1: which in the end he wouldn't even keep. Seven years
Speaker 1: and one day after they first got married, Soriah left
Speaker 1: Iran for the last time. One month later, on March fourteenth,
Speaker 1: nineteen fifty eight, the Shah would speak over the radio
Speaker 1: announcing the couple's divorce, and Soria, even though she understood
Speaker 1: why the Shah had to do this, would never quite
Speaker 1: forgive him for it, perhaps letting the worst of her
Speaker 1: racist beliefs surface in her first autobiography, she called the
Speaker 1: Shah fundamentally and oriental. She believed that he wasn't Western
Speaker 1: enough to give up his throne for love, like the
Speaker 1: Duke of Windsor had done for Wallace Simpson. Even though
Speaker 1: she knew how dedicated he was to his throne and
Speaker 1: knew that he expected her to know that, she still
Speaker 1: thought he would choose her over ruling Iran. But ultimately
Speaker 1: soria and the Shah both had lost the loves of
Speaker 1: their lives. The love that had burned so bright had
Speaker 1: flamed out through no fault of their own. Their circumstances
Speaker 1: and the reality that they lived in prevented them from
Speaker 1: living out there happily. Ever after. Soriah's life after her
Speaker 1: divorce was difficult. She described this period as a quote
Speaker 1: free fall, where she had to learn how to be
Speaker 1: a normal adult without the trappings of royal status. Forget
Speaker 1: living without your beloved. Imagine trying to learn from scratch
Speaker 1: how to tip waiters or follow road signs when you drive,
Speaker 1: or pull in an electrical chord into the wall, all
Speaker 1: while being hounded by European paparazzi who dubbed her Soria
Speaker 1: Princess with the sad eyes. In fact, her divorce and
Speaker 1: the publicity over her sadness was so moving to the
Speaker 1: public that French songwriter Francois Malegerie was inspired to write
Speaker 1: the song jevou pleure coma Soria, sorry for the pronunciation,
Speaker 1: I want to cry like Soria. Once she had regained
Speaker 1: some semblance of self, Soria decided to finally pursue her
Speaker 1: dream of acting. She starred in the nineteen sixty five
Speaker 1: movie Ittre Volti The Three Faces, and like many great performers,
Speaker 1: was credited with just her first name. It was actually
Speaker 1: on the set of that movie that Sria met the
Speaker 1: second love of her life, Franco Indivina. She and the
Speaker 1: Italian film director began a love affair a few years
Speaker 1: later and would live together just outside of Rome for
Speaker 1: almost five years. But just like her first love, her
Speaker 1: second love, too was destined for heartbreak. In nineteen seventy two,
Speaker 1: Franco died tragically in a plane crash. This loss sent
Speaker 1: Soria into a tailspin from which she would never recover. Two.
Speaker 1: Devastated to return to their home in Rome, she moved
Speaker 1: to Paris. As part of her divorce. The Sha had
Speaker 1: bought Sria a penthouse in the eighth Arundismont, and that
Speaker 1: became her home for the rest of her life. While
Speaker 1: she did have friends there and did socialize in Paris,
Speaker 1: she never found another significant other. She had lost two
Speaker 1: great loves of her life and still held a candle
Speaker 1: for them both, even though she knew for different reasons,
Speaker 1: she could never have either of them. While she could
Speaker 1: never see Franco again, Soriah did keep in touch with
Speaker 1: the Shah. They would write letters to each other, and
Speaker 1: in accordance with their divorce agreement, he supported her financially
Speaker 1: until the Iranian Revolution. Soriah would see the Shah in
Speaker 1: person on multiple occasions after their divorce, but neither party
Speaker 1: ever publicly admitted it. Before the Shaw's exile and death
Speaker 1: in the late nineteen seventies, which you can hear more
Speaker 1: about in the earlier episode of Noble Blood. I mentioned
Speaker 1: whenever he would visit Europe, he would make secret trips
Speaker 1: to see her. Although there were happy moments and joyful
Speaker 1: aspects of her life, soria remained alone and lonely until
Speaker 1: she died in Paris in two thousand and one. She
Speaker 1: had relied on her few close friends and immediate family
Speaker 1: members for company, but the reality of her circumstance was
Speaker 1: captured perfectly by the title of her second autobiography, Palace
Speaker 1: of Solitude. That's the story of Soria, Empress of Iran.
Speaker 1: But stay tuned after a brief sponsor break to hear
Speaker 1: about how the Soria and Shah's relationship mirrors very specifically
Speaker 1: that of another royal couple covered on this podcast. While
Speaker 1: Soria had wished that the Shah would give up his
Speaker 1: throne for love, like the Duke of Windsor had for
Speaker 1: Wallace Simpson, the couple would in actuality come to resemble
Speaker 1: a different famous noble couple that we've covered on this podcast,
Speaker 1: Napoleon and Josephine. Not only were they an unconventional love
Speaker 1: match forced apart due to his need for an air,
Speaker 1: but their stories of their connections at the end of
Speaker 1: each respective monarch's life is astoundingly similar. Josephine had tried
Speaker 1: to visit her ex husband Napoleon when he was in exile,
Speaker 1: but never got the chance to see him one final
Speaker 1: time before she died, but in the same way he
Speaker 1: had been on her mind. Napoleon's last word years later
Speaker 1: was Josephine's name true love tragically kept apart. Just like Napoleon,
Speaker 1: the Sha was in exile when he died. After the
Speaker 1: Shah had been overthrown and exiled from Iran in nineteen
Speaker 1: seventy nine, were of the Shah's quick deteriorating health spread
Speaker 1: all over the world. When Soriah heard the news, she
Speaker 1: reached out through secret channels to the Shah and expressed
Speaker 1: that she wished to visit him and see him one
Speaker 1: final time. Having kept a spot in his heart for
Speaker 1: his second wife, The Shah agreed to a visit, although
Speaker 1: he stipulated that it would have to be kept secret
Speaker 1: from his third and then current wife, Fara, So the
Speaker 1: Shas entourage coordinated with the Egyptian government, the then hosts
Speaker 1: of the sickly exiled Shah, to facilitate Soriah's inconspicuous visit
Speaker 1: to the country. Unfortunately, though, just before she was set
Speaker 1: to head out for Egypt, her trip was postponed. The
Speaker 1: Shah's health had taken a dramatic turn for the worse
Speaker 1: and he was in no state to accept visitors. Alas
Speaker 1: the postponed trip would now her come and the Shaw
Speaker 1: passed away shortly thereafter. Soriah had been denied her last
Speaker 1: opportunity to say goodbye to the husband. She had been
Speaker 1: forced to give up so that he might produce an air,
Speaker 1: just as Josephine and Napoleon never truly got to say goodbye.
Speaker 1: Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and
Speaker 1: Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me
Speaker 1: Danish Forts, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston,
Speaker 1: Hannah Zwick, Courtney Sender, Julia Milani, and Armand Cassam. The
Speaker 1: show is edited and produced by Noemy Griffin and rima
Speaker 1: Ill Kaali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers
Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams and Matt Frederick. More podcasts from iHeartRadio,
Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.