Shahnaz Pahlavi (, born 27 October 1940) is the first child of the former

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

of Iran,

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

, and his first wife, Fawzia of Egypt.

Early life and education

Shahnaz Pahlavi was born in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

on 27 October 1940, a year before the accession of her father to the throne. She is the only child of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his first wife Queen Fawzia. Shahnaz is the paternal half-sister of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, Princess Farahnaz Pahlavi, Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi II and Princess Leila Pahlavi – the four children of the Shah by his third wife,

Farah Pahlavi Farah Pahlavi (; []; born 14 October 1938) is the former Queen and last Empress () of Pahlavi Iran and is the third wife and widow of the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. She was born into a prosperous Ira ...

. Her maternal grandparents were King

Fuad I Fuad I ( ''Fu’ād al-Awwal''; 26 March 1868 – 28 April 1936) was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and the Sudan. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, he became Sultan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Hus ...

and Queen Nazli of Egypt; and her paternal grandparents were

Reza Shah Reza Shah Pahlavi born Reza Khan (15 March 1878 – 26 July 1944) was shah of Iran from 1925 to 1941 and founder of the roughly 53 years old Pahlavi dynasty. Originally a military officer, he became a politician, serving as minister of war an ...

and Queen

Tadj ol-Molouk Tâdj ol-Molouk (; 17 March 1896 – 10 March 1982) was List of royal consorts of Iran, Queen of Iran as the second wife of Reza Shah, founder of the Pahlavi dynasty and Shah of Iran between 1925 and 1941. The title she was given after becoming ...

of Iran. She is also the niece of King

Farouk I of Egypt Farouk I (; ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I of Egypt, Fuad I, in 1936 and reig ...

and thus a cousin of the last Egyptian king, Fuad II. Shahnaz Pahlavi was educated in a Belgian boarding school, the Lycée Léonie de Waha, in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

and then in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Personal life

Her father had plans for Shahnaz's marriage with King Faisal of Iraq which did not materialise due to her unwillingness. Her first marriage, at age sixteen, was to Ardeshir Zahedi on 11 October 1957, at

Golestan Palace The Golestan Palace (, ''Kākh-e Golestān''), also transliterated as the Gulistan Palace and sometimes translated as the Rose Garden Palace from Persian language, was built in the 16th century, renovated in the 18th century and finally rebuilt ...

. He was one-time Iranian foreign minister and twice Iranian ambassador to the United States (1957–64 and 1972–79). She and Zahedi first met in Germany in 1955. The couple have one daughter, Princess (styled "Vala Gohari") Mahnaz Zahedi (born 2 December 1958). They divorced in 1964. Shahnaz later married

Khosrow Jahanbani Khosrow Jahanbani (27 February 1941 – 16 April 2014) was the son of Iranian general Amanullah Jahanbani and second husband of Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi. Early life Jahanbani was born on 27 February 1941 and was the youngest son of Iranian gener ...

in February 1971 at the Iranian Embassy,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Their marriage lasted until Jahanbani's death on 13 April 2014. They have a son, Keykhosrow (born 20 November 1971), and a daughter, Fawzia (born 1973). During her father's reign, Shahnaz had investments in agricultural enterprises and assembly plants of

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

bicycles and motorcycles in Iran.

Later years

Since the

Iranian Revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

, Shahnaz Pahlavi has lived in Switzerland. She has Swiss citizenship. In December 2013 Shahnaz Pahlavi was granted Egyptian citizenship by the

Egyptian government The politics of Egypt takes place within the framework of a republican semi-presidential system of government. The current political system was established following the 2013 Egyptian military coup d'état, and the takeover of President Abdel ...

Honours

* Imperial Iran: Grand Cross of the Order of AryamehrPinterest
/ref> * Imperial Iran: Grand Cross of the Order of the Pleiades, 1st class * Imperial Iran: 25th Anniversary medal * Imperial Iran:

2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire The 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire, officially known as the 2,500-year celebration of the Empire of Iran (), was hosted by the Pahlavi dynasty in the Imperial State of Iran in October 1971. Concentrated at Persepolis, it consisted ...

Gallery

Image:Cecil Beaton Photographs- Political and Military Personalities; Chahnaz, Princess of Iran, Fawzieh, Queen of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi CBM2404.jpg, Princess Shahnaz with her parents in Tehran during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Photo by

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as costume designer and set designer for stage and screen. His accolades ...

Image:Mohammad Pahlavi Coronation.jpg, Coronation of the Shah of Iran in 1967 – Princess Shahnaz (second from left)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pahlavi, Shahnaz 20th-century Iranian women 21st-century Iranian women 1940 births Daughters of kings Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in Switzerland Iranian emigrants to Switzerland Iranian people of Albanian descent Iranian people of Circassian descent Iranian people of Egyptian descent Iranian people of French descent Iranian people of Turkish descent Living people Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Pahlavi princesses Royalty from Tehran