His father, Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi, was the second son of Reza Shah, founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, and the younger brother of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah. Tragically, Patrick’s father died in a plane crash in 1954, when Patrick was only six years old. This placed him—briefly and symbolically—as the heir presumptive to the throne, until the birth of his cousin, Reza Pahlavi, in 1960. Patrick’s early life was marked by a tug-of-war between royal expectations and his mother’s desire to raise him in France. This resulted in a highly publicized legal battle, with the Shah’s court attempting to take custody of him to ensure he was raised within royal tradition.
