Fawzia Fuad of Egypt

Fawzia Fuad of Egypt was an Egyptian princess who became Queen of Iran as the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran. She was the daughter of Fuad I, the seventh son of Ismail the Magnificent, and his second wife Nazli Sabri. She was educated in Switzerland and was fluent in English, French, and Arabic. Her beauty was often compared to that of film stars Hedy Lamarr and Vivien Leigh. Her marriage to the Iranian Crown Prince in 1939 was a political deal that consolidated Egyptian power and influence in the Middle East, while bringing respectability to the new Iranian regime by association with the much more prestigious Egyptian royal house. However, the marriage was unhappy and Fawzia obtained an Egyptian divorce in 1945, which was not recognized in Iran until 1948. She had one daughter with the Shah, Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi, who stayed in Iran with her father. In 1949, Fawzia married Colonel Ismail Chirine, an Egyptian diplomat, with whom she had a son and a daughter. She lived a quiet life in Egypt and rarely appeared in public. She died of heart failure in 2013 at the age of 91.