It was a lavish ceremony – something of a signature from Farouk, who was known for his love of grand displays of wealth – with a 20-course meal. Not to be outdone, the follow-up celebrations in Tehran included a stadium visit with an acrobatic display. When news of the Princess’s unhappiness reached Egypt, courtiers were dispatched to check on her. After reporting that she was so thin that her shoulder blades were ‘jutted out like the fins of some undernourished fish.’ The reaction of her brother was swift – he urged her to come home, and a divorce was granted three years after she returned to Cairo, in 1948.
