Princess Soraya Pahlavi

Iranian royalty: the second wife of the Shah of Iran. As a student in London, she became friends with the Princess Ashraf, the sister of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. When the girls made a trip home, she met the Shah and they became engaged five days later. They married on 12 February 1951.

Seven years later they were still childless. A political delegation informed the Shah that he must take another wife, as four wives are allowed by Moslem law, in order to insure an heir. Soraya did not agree to that solution so they divorced on 17 March 1958. With the divorce, she lost her title of "Empress" but the Shah bestowed on her the title of "Royal Princess.".

Her financial settlement was $67,000 plus several million in jewels and $48,000 a year maintenance. Stylish and cosmopolitan, she joined the jet-set life style, and for a lark, made a movie in 1964, "The Three Faces of a Woman."

She died in Paris 25 October 2001.