Sunday at 04:56 PM2 days "Sad-Eyed Princess" was the name given to the second wife of the Shah of Iran (the equivalent of a king), Princess Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary.Her life was so romantic novel coded. She was born into a unique and symbolic background: half-Persian through her noble Iranian father, and half-German through her mother. This dual identity often placed her in an uncomfortable in-between, seen as too Iranian for Europeans, and too European for Iranians. That will define her feeling of never being at the right place in her life.At around 18 years old, she married Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, shortly after his divorce from his highly respected first wife, Fawzia of Egypt. He was already something around 30 years old and she came from Europe, it was a bit troubling for her. Her marriage to the Shah was marked by both messiness and love. People in Iran didn't liked her this much because of her rebel attitude and saw her as a depraved woman from Europe. Sadly, Soraya was unable to bear a child, something crucial for the monarchy’s future. Despite the love between them, this led to their separation.After the divorce, she briefly pursued an acting career and had a relationship with a European film producer. But he passed away. She and the shah still had feelings for each other. They tried to exchange letters, but the Shah’s later wife was jealous and prevented contact. Soraya wanted to see him again, but he passed away before that could happen. She died alone in Paris at the age of 69.To me, her story gives her face a kind of haunting beauty the essence of a romantic heroine. She had a noble and deep gaze, with siren type eyes that gave her almost a divine look. The pale color of her eyes evokes the softness of tears. Her round face was also soft, romantic and fragile as her story.
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