2500th Anniversary of the Persian Empire, 1971

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The Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran, the ‘King of Kings’, and Empress Farah (celebrating her birthday and wearing the Noor-ol-Ain Tiara) celebrated 2,500 years of the Persian Empire on this day in 1971 (50 years ago), by hosting a series of lavish celebrations at Persepolis, the ancient capital of the Persian Empire, which we will feature in detail over the next few days. The highlight of the celebrations was a spectacular Banquet in a splendid Hall set in the midst of a specially constructed tent city, with an illustrious guest list that made it one of the grandest royal events of the last century regarded the most expensive party ever held in modern history. The following day, there was a massive Parade before the Shah and Empress hosted a traditional Persian Dinner.

Decadence and Downfall: The Shah of Iran’s Ultimate Party

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Royal attendees at the Grand Banquet included Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark (wearing the Danish Pearl Poiré Parure), King Olav V of Norway, King Constantine II, Queen Anne-Marie (in the Greek Emerald Parure) and Prince Michael of Greece, King Hussein, Princess Muna (wearing her Diamond Scroll Tiara), and Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan (in Princess Muna’s Diamond Loop Tiara),  King Mahendra and Queen Ratna of Nepal (wearing the Nepalese Diamond Tiara), King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium (wearing the Wolfers Necklace Tiara), the King and Queen of Malaysia (in the Gandik Diraja Tiara), Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg (wearing the Belgian Scroll Tiara), Crown Prince Carl Gustav of Sweden, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco (in a Diamond Tiara), Prince Franz Joseph and Princess Gina of Liechtenstein (wearing the Hapsburg Fringe Tiara and Princess Gina’s Sapphire Parure), the Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Anne (in Princess Andrew’s Meander Tiara), Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sofia of Spain (in Queen Maria Christina’s Cartier Loop Tiara), the Prince and Princess of Naples, the Begum Om Habibeh Aga Khan, Prince and Princess Mikasa, Prince Moulay Abdallah and Princess Lamia of Morocco, Prince Bhanubandhu Yugala of Thailand.

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