Fawzia of Egypt
Fawzia of Egypt (Arabic: فوزية; Persian: فوزیه ; 5 November 1921 – 2 July 2013), also known as Fawzia Pahlavi or Fawzia Chirine, was an Egyptian princess who became Queen of Iran as the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran.
| Fawzia فوزية | |
|---|---|
Fawzia in the 1940s | |
| Queen consort of Iran | |
| Tenure | 16 September 1941 – 17 November 1948 |
| Born | 5 November 1921 Ras el-Tin Palace, Alexandria, Sultanate of Egypt |
| Died | 2 July 2013 (aged 91) Alexandria, Egypt |
| Burial | Al-Rifa'i Mosque, Cairo, Egypt |
| Spouse | |
| Issue |
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| House | Muhammad Ali (by birth) Pahlavi (by marriage) |
| Father | Fuad I of Egypt |
| Mother | Nazli Sabri |
Fawzia was the daughter of Fuad I, seventh son of Ismail the Magnificent. Her marriage to the Iranian Crown Prince in 1939 was a political deal: it 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. It was never a love-match, and Fawzia obtained an Egyptian divorce in 1945 (not recognised in Iran until 1948), under which their one daughter Princess Shahnaz would be brought up in Iran.
In 1949, Fawzia married Colonel Ismail Chirine, an Egyptian diplomat, with whom she had a son and a daughter.