Esmat Dowlatshahi


Esmat Dowlatshahi was an Iranian royal and the fourth and last wife of Reza Shah.

Early life

Dowlatshahi was born in 1904. She was a member of the Qajar dynasty. Her parents were cousins. Her father was Gholam Ali Mirza "Mojalal Dowleh" Dowlatshahi. Her mother was Mobtahedj-od-Dowleh, daughter of Ebtehadj Saltaneh and Abou Nasr Mirza "Hessam Saltaneh II". Her paternal grandfather was Hessam-Saltaneh I. She had two brothers and one sister. Mehrangiz Dowlatshahi, member of the Majlis and Iranian ambassador, was her cousin.

Marriage

Princess Esmat Dowlatshahi and Reza Shah wed in 1923. She was his fourth, last and favourite wife. Reza Shah was the minister of war when they married. From this marriage five children were born: Abdul Reza, Ahmad Reza, Mahmoud Reza, Fatimeh and Hamid Reza Pahlavi. When Dowlatshahi's husband became Shah of Iran in 1925, she became empress consort, which she held until 1941 when her husband was deposed.
Dowlatshahi and Reza Shah lived in the Marble palace in Tehran with their children. She accompanied her husband to Mauritius who exiled there in September 1941, and returned to Iran after a few months. Following Reza Shah's death, Dowlatshahi married Mohsen Rais.

Later life and death

Dowlatshahi stayed in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. She died on 25 July 1995. She was buried in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, Tehran.