Shams Pahlavi passed away in 1996 in London, largely outside of the public eye. Her life, filled with privilege, royal status, exile, and loss, serves as a poignant symbol of the changing tides in Iran’s history during the 20th century. She, like her family, was a casualty of the sweeping political transformations that fundamentally altered the country. Despite her relatively low profile compared to other members of the Pahlavi family, her story remains an important part of the broader narrative of political evolution and the Pahlavi dynasty’s rise and fall.
