"The Princess with the Sad Eyes"

she was quickly ushered into a waiting limousine. Soria and her father drove through the city to the house that they would be staying at for the duration of their trip to Iran's capital. Sria gazed out the window and tried to imagine what her next day would look like. Despite the fatigue she felt from the long travel day, she was too excited about being presented to the Iranian court and the Sha to quiet her mind. Just a few months ago, she was a normal German Iranian girl

who had just graduated from finishing school. Now she was a contender to be the Shah's wife, the Empress of Iran. Once at the house, Sria began to unpack her trunks. As she put her clothes away, she admired the dresses that she had bought in Paris. Which one should she wear tomorrow to be presented to the court. Maybe the blue one, but with what shoes? Oh? Certainly the white kitten heels, very classy. But would the Sha like this outfit?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the bedroom door. Soriah opened the door to a servant delivering a message. Would it be possible for miss Esfandiari to visit the Dowager Empress this evening? She has arranged a small dinner at which only the innermost family will be present. With that generous invitation, which was more of a summons really than an invite, Sriah quickly got ready and left for

the Dowager Empress's residence. Once there, soria was welcomed into the Dowager Empress's drawing room, where the Dowager and the Shah's siblings greeted their guests with pleasantries and polite conversation, But the room fell silent when it was announced His Majesty the Shah, the man who had summoned Soriya all

the way from London, strode into the room. Confidently Mohammed Razashah, dressed in his favorite uniform of the General of the Iranian Air Force went around the room, greeting his mother and his siblings. In her second autobiography, Soriah recalled quote, I found him imposing, magnificent, splendid. I was mesmerized. He was superb looking, he was handsome and knew how to smile. I freely admit that it was love at first sight. With the ultimate guest of honor now in attendance, the

party moved into the dining room. Breaking protocol, the Shah beckoned Soriah to sit next to him. Despite their over fifteen year age difference, there was an ease to their conversation as the pair chatted about their childhoods, both spent at boarding schools in Switzerland. Soria later recalled that quote, without our having said anything of importance to each other, a confidence and tenderness had passed between us. There was

as certainly an unspoken connection between the two. Following after dinner, games and tea, Soriah was finally able to retire to her lodgings. She longed just to close her eyes and finally lay down after an extremely long day, but at almost midnight the door bell rang. Soriah saw her father looking rather frazzled. Soria the Shah liked you very much. Are you willing to marry him? Astonished Siriah asked, do I have to decide now? Her father affirmed yes, he

would like to announce your engagement tomorrow. Surprising even herself, Soriah quickly replied, tell the Shaw that I accept, I will be his wife. The love between soria and the Sha, the love that first ignited that October night in nineteen fifty, was and blossomed quickly into a marriage and partnership. Their romance was like something out of a fairy tale. It seemed as though they were destined to be together. Unfortunately, the almost divine nature of their love could not overcome

the harsh reality they would face during their marriage. No matter how idyllic their life together seemed, there was always something laying in weight that, once revealed, would send it all toppling down. In fact, this would be a theme of Soriah's life. No matter what happiness she seemed to achieve,

it would all vanish in a matter of time. Her unfortunate turns of fate would be perfectly encompassed by her nickname and the title of her second autobiography, Princess with the Sad Eyes, was the nickname entrapped in her her Palace of Loneliness. I'm Danash Schwartz, and this is Noble Blood. Before I dive in, I want to mention that for today's episode, I relied on an uncommon collection of sources.

Soriah wrote two separate autobiographies, one in nineteen sixty four and one Palace of Loneliness in nineteen ninety two, both of which spoke of her experiences married to the Shah, but through the lens of very different periods in her life. To have one autobiography to use as a Noble Blood source is unusual, but not terribly out of the ordinary.

To have two is incredibly rare. So much of what I talk about today comes from Soriah herself, so be mindful of any potential biases that obviously come with one's telling of this her own story. From the moment she was born in the summer of nineteen thirty two, soria Esfundari Bakhtiari seemed poised to lead an exceptional life. Child of a German mother and Iranian father, Sarria grew up

with a dual identity shared by very few. Sarria's father was a prominent member of the Baktyari tribe of southern Iran, so her family spent many years living in her ancestral homelands of Isfan. In her tween and teenage years, Sria's family moved to her mother's homeland of Germany, and Sara herself spent many of her most formative years at boarding

schools in Switzerland. The duality of her heritage and her upbringing was difficult for the young Saraya, as she struggled to identify with either aspect of herself, and while she certainly identified with her Iranian heritage, she did harbor Eurocentric tendencies and frankly racist views about Iran. As empress, she would later write quote, the feeling of being both Christian and Muslim, but at the same time of being neither one nor the other has engraved in my flesh two

divergent poles between which my existence unfolded. The one is methodically European, the other savagely Persian. Ironic that Siah would become the Empress of Persia. Soria was an undoubtedly gorgeous woman. Her piercing light blue gray eyes were striking against her dark black hair and fair skin. Imagine young Sophia Iren

and young Elizabeth Taylor combined and you get Soria. So it was no wonder that she received many a marriage proposal, especially from men from prominent families in Isfan, but her parents themselves an unusual love match, protected her from those proposals. At this point, Sarah had just completed finishing school in Switzerland and desperately wished to become an actress, but her parents, like many, chafed at the idea of their daughter becoming

an artist. As a compromised, sixteen year old Sarah set off for London, where she would stay with her cousins to better improve her English. It would be these cousins in London who would change the trajectory of Soria's life forever. One of these cousins, named Guidars, was obsessed with photography and asked to take Sarria's picture one afternoon. He had Sarah pose all over their flat in front of their apartment building in a nearby park, really all over the place.

A little suspicious, Sarah asked, what's going on, Gwidars. Usually you don't waste so much film? Gudars, deciding to tell a half truth, replied that their aunt in Tehran had asked for some new pictures of Soria. Who that woman was. Saya had no idea, but who is she to say no to getting to act like a model with her cousin For an afternoon. Later that week, her other cousin, Malikshah, asked her to accompany him to a dinner at the Iranian embassy there in London in honor of the Shah's sister,

Princess Shams. Of course, Sarriyah would go, and, no surprise to the self important Saraya, Princess Shams took an immediate liking to her. At dinner, they chatted all night, and before Sarriah took her leave, Princess Shams squeezed her hand and asked, do you want to come with me tomorrow evening to the theater. From that night on, the two women became inseparable. They went out on the town together, and Shams even brought Sarria along to Paris with her

for a three week stay. Little did Sria know that the Princess Shams had actually been dispatched to London by the Shah specifically to meet and vet Sria. The photos that Gwidars had taken were indeed for his aunt, but she had requested them so that she might show Sria

to the Shah's mother, the Dowager Empress. The Dowager Empress, looking for a wife for the Shah, liked Soria's look and showed them to her son, Mohammed Rezashah had been divorced from his first wife for three years now, and despite having multiple mistresses, he had been lonely and was looking for his next wife. Intrigued by the pictures of Saya,

he sent his younger sister to meet her. Although Shams had set out intentionally to evaluate whether or not the young woman was suitable marriage material for the Shah, she found herself genuinely enjoying Sarria and communicated her approval to her brother. Soon after arriving, Princess Shams officially floated the idea of marrying the Shah to Sarria. On their trip

to Paris. While talking about her brother one afternoon, the princess casually said, of course, it would be fine if some young girls such as yourself were to be willing to share Mohammed Reza's life. While Sarria, having been told the true motivation behind her cousin's photographs, had inklings that that might be a possibility, Schams's comment made it all real. Shortly after that Paris trip, Rayah's father called to tell her that the Shah had requested that he presents Soria

at court. Clearly, the Persian royal family was wasting no time. It was decided that Princess Shams, Sria, and Soria's father would depart for Iran promptly. After stopping over in Rome for a few days, where her father met them, Sarria and Princess Shams boarded their flight for Tehran early on October seventh, nineteen fifty. As soon as Sriah stepped off the plane, as told in the introduction of this episode, she was immediately swept up in the whirlwind of her

new life in the Iranian court. Perhaps like most noble arranged marriages, Soria and the Shah used their engagement to get to know each other. They would go on picnic lunches together and steal private moments official functions. But unlike many, probably even most arranged royal couples, the two were genuinely quite enamored with each other. Their love was tested and ultimately proven when Soria fell ill with samonella poisoning just

a few weeks before their wedding. The Shah visited his bedridden fiance every day, bringing her a gift with each trip. Sometimes the gift was just a bouquet of flowers or a gramophone record to entertain her, and sometimes it would be a stunning jewel or an exquisite piece of jewelry, like quote, a gold watch with a chiseled bird, set

with rubies and emeralds. These gifts and the Shaw's consistent visits represented for Soria the depth of her future husband's dedication, and it endeared him to her more and more with each day. Fortunately, Soria's illness was proving persistent, and their original wedding day came and went with the future Empress still unwell. The Shah, hoping to get married as soon as possible, sent the nation's best doctors and nurses to

his betrothed bedside. In January nineteen fifty one, after multiple months of bedterist for Soria, the doctors determined that the soon to be Empress was well enough to walk down the aisle and withstand the demanding ceremonies of a royal wedding. So on February twelfth, nineteen fifty one, Soria and the Shah were married. That morning, Sria donned her wedding dress, which weighed half of Soria's body weight thanks to the ten foot long train and a necklace and a diadem

borrowed from Iran's collection of crown jewels. Doing her best to appear regal, the bride glided down a hallway decorated with orchids, cherry trees, and lilacs to join her fiance for the ceremony. When the officiating a mom asked the couple if they would like to take the other in marriage, Soriah could barely wait. Yes, she proclaimed, jumping in so fast as to almost speak over him. Yes. With the Shaw's firm but delighted confirmation, the lovebirds were officially wed,

and the rest of their life together could begin. Soria and the Shaw's courtship and wedding had been almost storybook perfect, but the air of perfection and atmosphere of love had obscured for Soria the tense political landscape that was developing in Iran at that very moment, as briefly discussed in

our earlier episode entitled The Dinner Party. At the end of the Iranian monarchy, oil was a precious resource for Iran, worth quite a bit of money, but from its discovery in the country up through the nineteen forties, the Anglo Iranian Oil Company essentially had a monopoly on the oil in the country. Because of how profitable oil was, many Iranians were upset that the British and not they were

benefiting from their country's natural resource. The popular figurehead leading this movement to keep those profits in Iran and to nationalize Iran's oil was then parliament member Mohammed Mosdae, who also wanted to bring democracy to Iran. Masada's push for democracy threatened the Shah's grip on the country, as did the communist Tuda Party and the extremist Shia sects pushing for a theocracy, and the Shah did and to have the strongest argument for his own rule at that moment.

In the late nineteen forties early nineteen fifties, as the country was facing an economic downturn because of the let's say uncertain political situation at home, Soraya and the Shah had to forego their European honeymoon, spending only two weeks at one of the Shah's villas north of Tehran on the Caspian Sea. Even then, the Shah was receiving memos and updates from his aids every day while they were

on their honeymoon. It wouldn't even be a full week after they returned from the sea for that honeymoon bubble to officially burst. Just three days after they returned, the prime minister was assassinated by assailants connected to conservative Muslim militants. On top of throwing the country into disarray, the prime Minister's assassination made way for mass to rise to the

seat of prime minister. Capitalizing on the moment, Masides set about initiating the nationalization of Iranian oil, which would eventually become one of the most consequential events in modern Iranian history. Understandably, the British and American governments were not thrilled with the nationalization of Iranian oil. That move not only would result in a Western company losing out on profit, but was

also too close to communist ideology for comfort. Fearing that the nationalization of oil would facilitate the encroachment of the USSR on Iran. The UK and US tried to bargain with Masidae and the Iranian people, but Masiday wouldn't budge. It was nationalization or nothing. Simultaneously, the new Prime Minister moved to consolidate his power and maneuver the Shah out

of any real role within the government. After months of political back and forth and major opposition from unsurprisingly the Shah, Massidas succeeded in nineteen fifty three in assuming powers that were once held by the ruler. The Shah had been relinquished to essentially a figurehead monarch. His advisers no longer visited him, and no one asked for his opinion on

matters of state. The Shah, who had been raised and trained his whole life to be a head of state, only to have that taken away, sank into a deep depression. While navigating her new role as empress, learning to manage personalities within the palla Vi family, and trying to master the Farsi language, Soriah did her best to be a

steadfast support to the Shah. During this time. She saw her ultimate duty as her husband's well being, so she made it her mission to bring him some relief, but there was little she could do to assuage the Shaw's paranoia and sense of hopelessness. She was stuck sleeping next to a man who barely smiled during the day and was always keeping a gun under his pillow at night. The Shah had warned Sria during their engagement that being

empress was not all glitz and glamour. On a walk before their wedding, the Shah had said to his fiance, quote, don't imagine that I'm offering you an easy life, Sria. The duties that you must accept will be hard and wearisome. I hope you have no illusions on that score. Soria didn't realize just how hard and wearisome it actually would be.

In early August nineteen fifty three, the Shah tried to make one last move to reclaim his power, and, with the support of the US in the UK, issued a proclamation calling for Masides resignation that he sent loyal army officers to execute. The attempted coup backfired, and the Shah had to flee the country immediately to avoid being arrested. At four in the morning, the Shah shook his wife awake and told her to pack up. They had to

leave right now, Sayah. The Shah and two other close courtiers scrambled onto a small plane and quickly took off, fleeing Ran with no idea of when they would return. After stopping in Baghdad for a few days, the couple arrived in Rome, where from the seclusion of their hotel suite, they grappled with the fact that they were no longer royalty. In the afternoons, over their tea, they started putting together some sort of plan for a normal life. Maybe they could buy a bit of land in the US and

lived there. Soria was starting to accept their fate as normal everyday people when the tide in Iran turned in late August nineteen fifty three, just a few weeks after the royal couple fled, the Iranian military, supported by the CIA, overthrew the prime Minister and called the Shah to return

to Iran and his throne. With that dramatic reversal of fortune, the royal couple returned to Iran more powerful than ever and finally began living the luxurious courtly life that Sarria had once imagined for herself when she first became engaged. Siria threw masquerade balls and finally redid the Imperial residence with the help of a famed Parisian designer. She bought an all new wardrobe of the hottest styles and became the most important woman into Irand's social scene. They were

living the life she had dreamed of. They had weathered the storm and now they were home free. But the thing that would really deprive Soria of her dreams had yet to rear its head. The chaos that had been Iran for the past three years had diverted attention from

an important aspect of the royal couple's marriage children. It hadn't been clear that the Shah would ultimately remain in power, so why bother worrying about producing an air But since the monarchy had emerged in nineteen fifty three, not only intact but stronger than ever, it was time to get serious. And get serious the Shah and Soria did. When not working towards a child, the couple would fantasize about their baby,

whom the Shah was certain would be a boy. Soria wished the same, but she was growing worried as she remained without child month after month, it soon became clear to Soria that the Shah was also becoming worried and a bit frustrated. The couple was scheduled to set off on a long overdue vacation across America and Europe that included Hollywood parties, waterskiing in Miami, and a dinner with Queen Elizabeth. But the trip was not just for pleasure.

Right before the trip, the sha had made plans for Soria to see specialists about her fertility. They would stop in both New York and Boston to meet with doctors for a quote checkup. As Soria was eager to become a mother, she was more than ready to receive answers and hopefully reassurance that a baby was not far off. The issue of producing an air became that much more important.

In Okat'burd nineteen fifty four, just days before they left for their trip, the Shah's younger brother, Alireza, the only person who could inherit the throne by Iranian law, died in a plane crash. Now it was imperative that Sriah produced not just a child, but a son. The survival of the Pahlavi dynasty depended on it. In her autobiographies, Soriah reflected on her trip to the US and Europe fondly.

She spoke of the dresses she purchased, the amazing venues they stayed at, the celebrities they met, and the gifts they received. She made only scant mention of the doctor's appointments in New York and no mention of her time in Boston. But it was these appointments that marked an inflection point in her marriage to the Shah, as it was in Boston that they learned she would never be

able to carry a child. This would be the thing that would ultimately keep Soriah from her happiness, that which would prevent soria from living with her true love in the royal court of her homeland. It had finally reared its head. Even if the two remained in love, the next three years of their marriage would always be tainted by the fact that soria could not produce an air.

One day, while out on a walk together, Soriah had had enough, and she beseeched the Shah to change the constitution so that one of his half brothers could become his heir, something that was previously outlawed. Her husband responded by saying that this change would have to go through the Council of Wise Men, who might not accept it. But what if he offered he took another wife solely for the purpose of producing an air That way, Soria would still get to remain empress. Soria was beyond offended

and rejected that offer outright. Instead, she offered to leave for Europe so that Mohammed Reza might convene the Counsel of Wise Men and they might avoid any awkwardness that would arise from their decision. The Shah thought that was a smart idea. It was then that they both knew, whether or not they would admit it, that their marriage was over. The Shah would sacrifice his love for his dynasty,

which in the end he wouldn't even keep. Seven years and one day after they first got married, Soriah left Iran for the last time. One month later, on March fourteenth, nineteen fifty eight, the Shah would speak over the radio announcing the couple's divorce, and Soria, even though she understood why the Shah had to do this, would never quite forgive him for it, perhaps letting the worst of her racist beliefs surface in her first autobiography, she called the

Shah fundamentally and oriental. She believed that he wasn't Western enough to give up his throne for love, like the Duke of Windsor had done for Wallace Simpson. Even though she knew how dedicated he was to his throne and knew that he expected her to know that, she still thought he would choose her over ruling Iran. But ultimately soria and the Shah both had lost the loves of their lives. The love that had burned so bright had

flamed out through no fault of their own. Their circumstances and the reality that they lived in prevented them from living out there happily. Ever after. Soriah's life after her divorce was difficult. She described this period as a quote free fall, where she had to learn how to be a normal adult without the trappings of royal status. Forget

living without your beloved. Imagine trying to learn from scratch how to tip waiters or follow road signs when you drive, or pull in an electrical chord into the wall, all while being hounded by European paparazzi who dubbed her Soria Princess with the sad eyes. In fact, her divorce and the publicity over her sadness was so moving to the public that French songwriter Francois Malegerie was inspired to write the song jevou pleure coma Soria, sorry for the pronunciation,

I want to cry like Soria. Once she had regained some semblance of self, Soria decided to finally pursue her dream of acting. She starred in the nineteen sixty five movie Ittre Volti The Three Faces, and like many great performers, was credited with just her first name. It was actually on the set of that movie that Sria met the second love of her life, Franco Indivina. She and the Italian film director began a love affair a few years later and would live together just outside of Rome for

almost five years. But just like her first love, her second love, too was destined for heartbreak. In nineteen seventy two, Franco died tragically in a plane crash. This loss sent Soria into a tailspin from which she would never recover. Two. Devastated to return to their home in Rome, she moved to Paris. As part of her divorce. The Sha had bought Sria a penthouse in the eighth Arundismont, and that

became her home for the rest of her life. While she did have friends there and did socialize in Paris, she never found another significant other. She had lost two great loves of her life and still held a candle for them both, even though she knew for different reasons, she could never have either of them. While she could never see Franco again, Soriah did keep in touch with

the Shah. They would write letters to each other, and in accordance with their divorce agreement, he supported her financially until the Iranian Revolution. Soriah would see the Shah in person on multiple occasions after their divorce, but neither party ever publicly admitted it. Before the Shaw's exile and death in the late nineteen seventies, which you can hear more about in the earlier episode of Noble Blood. I mentioned whenever he would visit Europe, he would make secret trips

to see her. Although there were happy moments and joyful aspects of her life, soria remained alone and lonely until she died in Paris in two thousand and one. She had relied on her few close friends and immediate family members for company, but the reality of her circumstance was captured perfectly by the title of her second autobiography, Palace of Solitude. That's the story of Soria, Empress of Iran.

But stay tuned after a brief sponsor break to hear about how the Soria and Shah's relationship mirrors very specifically that of another royal couple covered on this podcast. While Soria had wished that the Shah would give up his throne for love, like the Duke of Windsor had for Wallace Simpson, the couple would in actuality come to resemble a different famous noble couple that we've covered on this podcast,

Napoleon and Josephine. Not only were they an unconventional love match forced apart due to his need for an air, but their stories of their connections at the end of each respective monarch's life is astoundingly similar. Josephine had tried to visit her ex husband Napoleon when he was in exile, but never got the chance to see him one final time before she died, but in the same way he had been on her mind. Napoleon's last word years later

was Josephine's name true love tragically kept apart. Just like Napoleon, the Sha was in exile when he died. After the Shah had been overthrown and exiled from Iran in nineteen seventy nine, were of the Shah's quick deteriorating health spread all over the world. When Soriah heard the news, she reached out through secret channels to the Shah and expressed that she wished to visit him and see him one

final time. Having kept a spot in his heart for his second wife, The Shah agreed to a visit, although he stipulated that it would have to be kept secret from his third and then current wife, Fara, So the Shas entourage coordinated with the Egyptian government, the then hosts of the sickly exiled Shah, to facilitate Soriah's inconspicuous visit to the country. Unfortunately, though, just before she was set

to head out for Egypt, her trip was postponed. The Shah's health had taken a dramatic turn for the worse and he was in no state to accept visitors. Alas the postponed trip would now her come and the Shaw passed away shortly thereafter. Soriah had been denied her last opportunity to say goodbye to the husband. She had been forced to give up so that he might produce an air, just as Josephine and Napoleon never truly got to say goodbye. Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and

Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Danish Forts, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zwick, Courtney Sender, Julia Milani, and Armand Cassam. The show is edited and produced by Noemy Griffin and rima Ill Kaali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams and Matt Frederick. More podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.