Evening star., 1959-12-21
FARAH
Simple Wedding Makes Commoner
Third Queen of Shah of iran
Continued From First Page

Continued From First Page
register is the record of the
Shah's previous marriage TO
Soraya.
Following the ceremony, the
Shah and Queen Farah stood
side by side amid banks of
flowers in the Hall of Mirrors
to receive the congratulations
and good wishes of their guests.
Outside the palace, several
thousand excited people strained
against police lines for a glimpse
OF the palace garden.
To each guest passing to
shake his hand. the Shah
handed a gold coin and a tiny
velvet box Of candy symbolic
OF sweetness, happiness and
fertility. Farah stood beside
him smiling and sometimes
laughing as she accepted the
good wishes Of Tehran's elite.
Gift From Eisenhower
The newlyweds invited their
guests into an adjoining room,
where wedding presents were
on display. They included a
large silver bowl from President
Eisenhower, who met the Shah
In this same palace last week.
An onyx casket from Soviet
Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev.
whose government has been de-
nouncing Iran for its military
ties with the United States, was
placed next to the Eisenhower
bowl on a table. The table was
loaded with other gifts of glis-
tening gold and silver.
Speaking to newsmen yester-
day, the Shah explained that
aside from human reasons, he
Is marrying Farah for reasons
of a monarchial order" Trans
constitution requires that the
successor to the throne be a
male. and the Shah has no
son.
Throne Rich in History
The throne itself is ancient
and rich in hstory-but the
Shah's family is not. His
father, Reza Khan, was a rough
army officer who seized power
In 1921 and had himself
crowned shah-in-shah Cking
OF kings four years later.
His son has been leading
Iran into the modern world
with land reforms and am
bilious technical projects. This
has set up social tensions with
in his kingdom. especially
among the tribal leaders who
remember how they were
forced to knuckle under to his
father.
A Shah without an heir is
obviously not as secure as a
monarch whose line of success
sion is clearly fixed. The Shah
himself has openly acknowl-
edged the possibility of assassi-
nation. The absence of an heir
IN such a situation would be
an invitation to political chaos.
The marriage rites were sur
rounded by the ornate splendor
Of ancient Persia. The peacock
throne itself has IL pillars, each
decorated with two GEM
encrusted peacocks. 1t reputedly
was built in the 18th century for
the Indian mogul Shah Jahan,
builder of India's Tai Mahal.
The throne was carried of to
Iran in 1889 by the Persian
ruler. Nadir Shah.
Financial Conditions
Part of the ceremony in
cluded financial conditions
payment the bride may expect
If ever divorced, as we'll as the
groom's dowry to the bride.
Both are symbolic. The
doWry is an elaborately bound
copy of the Koran and one gold
coin. The separation settle
ment would be half a million
rialS. CThe rial is worth little
more than one American
penny This is a mere token
since Farah spent much more
than that on her Dior trous-
seau.
The wedding schedule in
cluded, after the ceremony.
state banquet for $50 guests,
In the ivory room of Golestan
Palace, and two hours later a
wedding ball for some 1000 in
the Hall of Mirrors, where the
Shah entertained President
Eisenhower last week.
The, massive second floor
room in the palace has
thousands of tiny pieces of
mirror fitted together in in
tricate design completely
covering walls and ceiling. Two
huge crystal chandeliers hang
from the ceiling and a Persian
carpet covers the floor.
The couple will start their
honeymoon in a few days on
the Caspian sea. They plan
a trip early next year to
Pakistan and later to Europe.
i would like to see the
Olympics in Rome next year."
the Shah told newsmen.