Like many other royal consorts, the Queen initially limited herself to a ceremonial role. In 1961 during a visit to France, the Francophile Farah befriended the French culture minister André Malraux, leading her to arrange the exchange of cultural artefacts between French and art galleries and museums, a lively trade that continued until the couple were forced to flee their country during the Revolution in 1979. The Shah passed away in 1980, and Empress Farah lives in exile in between Washington, D.C. and Paris.
