Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Crown Prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1939)
The wedding of Princess Fawzia of Egypt and Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran was a purely political match, to enhance Egyptian power in the Middle East and to increase Iranian respectability. The couple had two lavish wedding ceremonies, one in Egypt, one in Iran. It was, unfortunately, not a perfect match. Princess Fawzia and Prince Reza Khan disliked each other, and Fawzia preferred her Egyptian home to their lifestyle in Iran.
The couple had one daughter in 1940, and had an Egyptian divorce in 1945, although the divorce wasn’t recognized by Iran until the couple filed for an Iranian divorce in 1948. It came at a price, though. Fawzia had to agree to let her daughter be raised in Iran. She later married for love and was reportedly happier married to her Colonel than she was to the Shah of Iran.
