Death
Princess Soraya died on 26 October 2001 (which would have been the 82nd birthday of the Shah) of undisclosed causes in her apartment in Paris, France; she was 69. Upon learning of her death, her younger brother, Bijan (1937–2001) (who died in Paris one week after Soraya), sadly commented, "After her, I don't have anyone to talk to."
After a funeral at the American Cathedral in Paris on 6 November 2001 – which was attended by Princess Ashraf Pahlavi, Prince Gholam Reza Pahlavi, the Count and Countess of Paris, the Prince and Princess of Naples, Prince Michel of Orléans, and Princess Ira von Fürstenberg – she was buried in the Westfriedhof, a cemetery in Munich, Germany, along with her parents and brother.
Since Soraya's death, several women have come forward claiming to be her illegitimate daughter, reportedly born in 1962, according to the Persian-language weekly Nimrooz; the claims have not been confirmed. The newspaper also published an article in 2001 which suggested, without proof, that Princess Soraya and her brother had been murdered.
The former queen's belongings were sold at auction in Paris after her death, for more than $8.3 million. Her Dior wedding dress brought $1.2 million.
Read more about this topic: Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“To die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly. Death freely chosen, death at the right time, brightly and cheerfully accomplished amid children and witnesses: then a real farewell is still possible, as the one who is taking leave is still there; also a real estimate of what one has wished, drawing the sum of one’s life—all in opposition to the wretched and revolting comedy that Christianity has made of the hour of death.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“We like the chase better than the quarry.... And those who philosophize on the matter, and who think men unreasonable for spending a whole day in chasing a hare which they would not have bought, scarce know our nature. The hare in itself would not screen us from the sight of death and calamities; but the chase, which turns away our attention from these, does screen us.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)