Foreign Royals depart Iran

~ Saad719

The Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran and Empress Farah were joined by Foreign Royal Guests as they attended the unveiling of the new Shahyad Tower in Tehran on this day in 1971 (50 years ago), to mark the 2500th Anniversary of the Persian Empire.

The Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran and Empress Farah were joined by Foreign Royal Guests as they attended the unveiling of the new Shahyad Tower in Tehran before the Royal Guests departed.

On the final day, the Shah inaugurated the Shahyad Tower (later renamed the Azadi Tower after the Iranian Revolution) in Tehran to commemorate the event. The tower was also home to the Museum of Persian History. In it was displayed the Cyrus Cylinder, which the Shah promoted as “the first human rights charter in history”. The cylinder was also the official symbol of the celebrations, and the Shah’s first speech at Cyrus’ tomb praised the freedom that it had proclaimed, two and a half millennia previously. The festivities were concluded with the Shah paying homage to his father, Reza Shah Pahlavi, at his mausoleum.

For the duration of the festivities, the Royal Guests had stayed in a specially constructed Tent City consisting of fifty tents arranged in a star pattern around a central fountain, that allowed the royals to freely interact with each other.

The Tent City (also called Golden City) was planned by the Parisian interior-design firm of Maison Jansen on 160 acres (0.65 km2). They referred to the meeting between Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. Fifty ‘tents’ (prefabricated luxury apartments with traditional Persian tent-cloth surrounds) were arranged in a star pattern around a central fountain. Numerous trees were planted around them in the desert, to recreate how ancient Persepolis would have looked. Each tent was provided with direct telephone and telex connections for attendees to their respective countries. The entire celebration was televised to the world by way of a satellite connection from the site.

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Noor-ul-Ain Tiara

Empress Farah’s Seven Emerald Tiara

Empress Farah’s Turquoise Tiara

Princess Soraya’s Emerald Tiara

Empress Eugenie’s Emeralds

Empress Farah’s Art Deco Diamond Tiara

Empress Farah’s Diamond Tiara

Empress Farah’s Yellow Diamond Tiara

Empress Farah’s Crown

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The Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran and Empress Farah were joined by Foreign Royal Guests as they attended the unveiling of the new Shahyad Tower in Tehran on this day in 1971 (50 years ago), to mark the 2500th Anniversary of the Persian Empire. Afterwards, the Shah and Empress saw off many of the Royal Guests at Tehran Airport as the departed Iran marking the end of the lavish festivities called the most expensive party ever held in modern history. Royal attendees in Iran included Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, King Frederik IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark, King Olav V of Norway, King Constantine II, Queen Anne-Marie and Prince Michael of Greece, King Hussein, Princess Muna, and Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan, King Mahendra and Queen Ratna of Nepal, King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola of Belgium, the King and Queen of Malaysia, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg, Crown Prince Carl Gustav of Sweden, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands,  Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace of Monaco, Prince Franz Joseph and Princess Gina of Liechtenstein, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Anne, Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sofia of Spain, 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.

2500th Anniversary Banquet | Persian Dinner in Persepolis

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For the duration of the festivities, the Royal Guests had stayed in a specially constructed Tent City consisting of fifty tents arranged in a star pattern around a central fountain, that allowed the royals to freely interact with each other.  The lavish festivities at Persepolis caused much criticism and became one of the leading factors for the abolition of the Iranian Monarchy in less than a decade.

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

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