[custom_adv] Soraya Esfandiary Bakhtiari never imagined that one day she would marry Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and that she would reign over her country, Iran. [custom_adv] She was queen for seven years, from 1951 to 1958. Brought up between Isfahan (a town in Iran) and Europe, Soraya had a relatively free adolescence. It was Princess Shams, older sister of the Iranian sovereign, who discovered this "rare pearl" during one of her stays in London. [custom_adv] Her brother, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, had succeeded Reza Shah during a period of political unrest at the beginning of the Second World War. First married to Princess Fawzia of Egypt, the sovereign had only one daughter, Shahnaz, and a younger brother, Ali Reza, to succeed him. [custom_adv] When his marriage to Fawzia ended in divorce, it was essential that the Shah remarry to ensure the succession of the Crown and the stability of the country. From their first meeting in London, Princess Shams was convinced that the young Soraya was the wife her brother needed, and she invited her to return with her to Tehran. [custom_adv] Two days after her arrival in the Iranian capital, Soraya was invited to dinner with the queen mother, Tadj ol-Molouk. During the dinner, the Shah was announced. The following day, Soraya's father said to her: "The Shah liked you very much. Are you ready to marry him?" [custom_adv] Queen Elizabeth II marks 65 years on British throne with Sapphire Jubilee Twenty-four hours later their engagement was announced and Soraya, aged 18, had a magnificent diamond on her finger, given to her by the Shah. [custom_adv] The wedding should have followed quickly. However, Soraya became bedridden for several weeks after contracting typhoid. Legend recounts that the Shah brought her a jewel every day and placed it on her pillow. The wedding finally took place on February 12, 1951. [custom_adv] After weeks of illness, the event would prove a physical test for Soraya. She could hardly stand up. Outside, snow fell on the city. The Shah ordered the installation of dozens of wood burners in his freezing palace, in an attempt to alleviate her suffering.. [custom_adv] Judging this insufficient, the court doctor prescribed that Soraya wear a woolen vest under her dress until the last possible moment. She put on a pair of woolen socks under her skirts. Christian Dior was commissioned to create the wedding dress, but made the outfit too large and too heavy for Soraya. [custom_adv] The twenty meters of white silk that made up the dress were overloaded with gold embroidery and strass. The result was a wedding dress that weighed more than 30 kilograms. [custom_adv] Minutes before the ceremony, the Shah and one of his aides used scissors to cut away eight meters of the train, in order to relieve Soraya of some of the weight. Relieved, the new Queen of Iran could just about remain standing during the reception that followed the religious ceremony.