First Marriage
He married as his first wife the Hon. Joan Guinness (née Yarde-Buller, 1908–1997). She was the former wife of Group Capt. Thomas "Loel" Guinness, a Member of Parliament, and a daughter of the 3rd Baron Churston. The wedding took place in Paris on May 18, 1936, a few days after Joan Guinness's divorce became absolute. Before the wedding, the bride converted to Islam and took the name Tajuddawlah .
"I had been involved with several women", he said of his playboy period of his life, which included high-profile lovers such as the British debutante Margaret Whigham and Thelma, Viscountess Furness, an American who was simultaneously involved with the Prince of Wales. "I was tired of trouble. Joan was a sane and solid girl, and I thought if I married her, I would stay out of trouble."
He had been named co-respondent in the "Guinness vs. Guinness and Khan" divorce suit, with Loel Guinness citing as evidence that his wife and the Prince had occupied a hotel room together from 17 May until 20 May 1935 and that his wife had told him that she "had formed an attachment for him and desired her husband to divorce her". The case was uncontested, and Aly Khan was ordered to pay all costs.
The couple's first child, Prince Karim, was born in Geneva, seven months later; they also had a second son, Prince Amyn Muhammad Aga Khan. By this marriage, he had a stepson, Patrick Guinness.
They divorced in 1949, in part due to his extramarital affairs with, among others, Pamela Churchill. After the divorce, Princess Tajuddawlah became the longtime mistress and eventual wife of the newspaper magnate Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose.
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Famous quotes containing the word marriage:
“And what if my descendants lose the flower
Through natural declension of the soul,
Through too much business with the passing hour,
Through too much play, or marriage with a fool?”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Why don’t you go home to your wife? I’ll tell you what. I’ll go home to your wife and outside of the improvements, you’ll never know the difference. Pull over to the side of the road there and let me see your marriage license.”
—S.J. Perelman, U.S. screenwriter, Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, and Norman Z. McLeod. Groucho Marx, Horsefeathers, a wisecrack made to Huxley College’s outgoing president (1932)