2,500 year celebration of Iran's monarchy
Encyclopedia
The 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire (Persian
جشنهای ۲۵۰۰ سالۀ شاهنشاهی ایران) consisted of an elaborate set of festivities that took place October 12–16, 1971, on the occasion of the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Iran
ian monarchy (Persian Empire) by Cyrus the Great
. The intent of the celebration was to demonstrate Iran's long history
and to showcase its contemporary advancements under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
, the Shah of Iran
.
served in the official logo as the symbol for the event. With the decision to hold the main event at the ancient city Persepolis
near Shiraz
, the local infrastructure had to be improved including the airport at Shiraz and a highway to Persepolis. While the press and supporting staff would be housed in Shiraz, the main festivities were planned for Persepolis that for this occasion would be the site of an elaborate tent city. The area around Persepolis was cleared of snakes and other vermin. Other events were scheduled for Pasargadae
, the site of the tomb of Cyrus the Great
, and Tehran
.
interior-design firm of Maison Jansen on 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) that took its inspiration from the 1520 Field of the Cloth of Gold
meeting between Francis I of France
and Henry VIII of England
. Fifty 'tents' (actually prefabricated luxury apartments with traditional Persian tent-cloth surrounds) were arranged in a star pattern around a central fountain, and vast numbers of trees were planted around them in the desert, recreating something of how the ancient Persepolis would have looked. The large Tent of Honor was designed for the reception of the dignitaries. The Banqueting Hall was the largest structure and measured 68 by 24 meters. The tent site was surrounded by gardens of trees and other plants flown in from France and adjacent to the ruins of Persepolis. Catering services were provided by Maxim's de Paris, which closed its restaurant in Paris for almost two weeks in order to provide for the glittering celebrations. Legendary hotelier Max Blouet came out of retirement to supervise the banquet. Lanvin
designed the uniforms of the Imperial Household. 250 red Mercedes-Benz
limousine
s were used to chauffeur guests from the airport and back. Dinnerware was created by Limoges
and linen by Porthault.
The festivities were opened on October 12, 1971 when the Shah and the Shahbanu
paid homage to Cyrus the Great
at his mausoleum
at Pasargadae
. For the next two days, the Shah and his wife greeted arriving guests, often directly at the Shiraz airport. On the evening of the 14th, a grand gala dinner took place in the Banqueting Hall in celebration of the birthday of the Shahbanu. Sixty heads of royalty and heads of state were assembled at the single large serpentine table in the Banqueting Hall. The official toast was raised with a Dom Perignon Rosé 1959.
The banquet menu was:
Six hundred guests dined over five and a half hours thus making for the longest and most lavish official banquet in modern history as recorded in successive editions of the Guinness Book of World Records. A son et lumière
show and fireworks, accompanied by Iannis Xenakis
' specially-commissioned electronic music piece Persepolis concluded the evening. The next day saw a parade of armies of different Iranian empires covering two and half millennia by 1,724 men of the Iranian armed forces, all in period costume. In the evening a less formal "traditional Persian party" was held in the Banqueting Hall as the concluding event at Persepolis.
On the final day, the Shah inaugurated the Shahyad Tower (later renamed the Azadi Tower
after the Iranian revolution
) in Tehran to commemorate the event. The tower was also home to the Museum of Persian History. In it was displayed the Cyrus Cylinder
, which the Shah promoted as "the first human rights
charter in history",. The cylinder was also the official symbol of the celebrations, and the Shah's first speech at Cyrus' tomb praised the freedom that it had proclaimed, two and a half millennia previously. The festivities were concluded with the Shah paying homage to his father, Reza Shah Pahlavi, at his mausoleum.
The event brought together the rulers of two of the oldest extant monarchies, the Shah and Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
. By the end of the decade, both monarchies had ceased to exist. Orson Welles
said of the event: "This was no party of the year, it was the celebration of 25 centuries!"
, took into preventive custody anyone it suspected to be a potential troublemaker.
of the Iranian monarchy. Arguably, it was the most notable international social event in the 20th century involving royalty
and heads of state. The festivities were criticized for their lavishness and it was opined that the money could have been better spent by supplying social services. Such critiques were voiced in the western press and by Khomeini
and his followers – Khomeini called it the "Devil's Festival.". Expenses were said to be as high as $200 million, while the Ministry of the Court placed the cost at $17 million; Ansari, one of the organizers, puts it at $22 million. The actual figure is difficult to calculate exactly and is a partisan issue. The defenders of the activities point out other benefits such as the opening of 3,200 schools, improvements in infrastructure, and the positive effect on Iran's international public relations. The event was officially denounced after the Iranian Revolution
.
Revolutionary critics claimed that the event highlighted Mohammed Reza Shah's loss of touch with the general public. Critics of the regime claimed Mohammed Reza Shah was too secular, un-Islamic, and westernized, and that his shunning of Islam's role in Iran alienated the general population from the regime, who began to see the Shah as a puppet of the west, trying to impress it and court it by westernizing Iran. The cost of the event added to the impression that the regime was authoritarian and didn't care about its people.
is a major landmark in Tehran. The mausoleum of Reza Shah Pahlavi
was destroyed after the revolution and replaced by an Islamic religious school.
and The Princess Anne
represented her instead). Other major leaders who did not attend were Richard Nixon
and Georges Pompidou
. Nixon had initially planned to attend but later changed his mind and sent Spiro Agnew
instead.
Some of the guests who were invited include:
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
جشنهای ۲۵۰۰ سالۀ شاهنشاهی ایران) consisted of an elaborate set of festivities that took place October 12–16, 1971, on the occasion of the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian monarchy (Persian Empire) by Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
. The intent of the celebration was to demonstrate Iran's long history
History of Iran
The history of Iran has been intertwined with the history of a larger historical region, comprising the area from the Danube River in the west to the Indus River and Jaxartes in the east and from the Caucasus, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea in the north to the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and Egypt...
and to showcase its contemporary advancements under Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...
, the Shah of Iran
Pahlavi dynasty
The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty consisted of two Iranian/Persian monarchs, father and son Reza Shah Pahlavi (reg. 1925–1941) and Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi The Pahlavi dynasty ...
.
Planning
The planning for the event took more than a decade. The Cyrus CylinderCyrus cylinder
The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several fragments, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of the Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. It dates from the 6th century BC and was discovered in the ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia in 1879...
served in the official logo as the symbol for the event. With the decision to hold the main event at the ancient city Persepolis
Persepolis
Perspolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire . Persepolis is situated northeast of the modern city of Shiraz in the Fars Province of modern Iran. In contemporary Persian, the site is known as Takht-e Jamshid...
near Shiraz
Shiraz, Iran
Shiraz is the sixth most populous city in Iran and is the capital of Fars Province, the city's 2009 population was 1,455,073. Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the Roodkhaneye Khoshk seasonal river...
, the local infrastructure had to be improved including the airport at Shiraz and a highway to Persepolis. While the press and supporting staff would be housed in Shiraz, the main festivities were planned for Persepolis that for this occasion would be the site of an elaborate tent city. The area around Persepolis was cleared of snakes and other vermin. Other events were scheduled for Pasargadae
Pasargadae
Pasargadae , the capital of Cyrus the Great and also his last resting place, was a city in ancient Persia, and is today an archaeological site and one of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-History:...
, the site of the tomb of Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
, and Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
.
The Tent City of Persepolis
The Tent City (also Golden City) was planned by the ParisianParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
interior-design firm of Maison Jansen on 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) that took its inspiration from the 1520 Field of the Cloth of Gold
Field of the Cloth of Gold
The Field of Cloth of Gold is the name given to a place in Balinghem, between Guînes and Ardres, in France, near Calais. It was the site of a meeting that took place from 7 June to 24 June 1520, between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France. The meeting was arranged to increase...
meeting between Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
and Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. Fifty 'tents' (actually prefabricated luxury apartments with traditional Persian tent-cloth surrounds) were arranged in a star pattern around a central fountain, and vast numbers of trees were planted around them in the desert, recreating something of how the ancient Persepolis would have looked. The large Tent of Honor was designed for the reception of the dignitaries. The Banqueting Hall was the largest structure and measured 68 by 24 meters. The tent site was surrounded by gardens of trees and other plants flown in from France and adjacent to the ruins of Persepolis. Catering services were provided by Maxim's de Paris, which closed its restaurant in Paris for almost two weeks in order to provide for the glittering celebrations. Legendary hotelier Max Blouet came out of retirement to supervise the banquet. Lanvin
Jeanne Lanvin
Jeanne-Marie Lanvin was a French fashion designer and the founder of the Lanvin fashion house.One of the most influential designers of the 1920s and '30s, Jeanne Lanvin's skillful use of intricate trimmings, virtuoso embroideries and beaded decorations in clear, light, floral colors became a...
designed the uniforms of the Imperial Household. 250 red Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
s were used to chauffeur guests from the airport and back. Dinnerware was created by Limoges
Limoges porcelain
Limoges porcelain designates hard-paste porcelain produced by factories near the city of Limoges, France beginning in the late 18th century, but does not refer to a particular manufacturer.- History :...
and linen by Porthault.
Festivities
Shahbanu
Shahbanu means Empress in Persian. It was a title that was only conferred on the third royal consort of Mohammad Reza Shah, Farah Pahlavi, in 1967....
paid homage to Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
at his mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
at Pasargadae
Pasargadae
Pasargadae , the capital of Cyrus the Great and also his last resting place, was a city in ancient Persia, and is today an archaeological site and one of Iran's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.-History:...
. For the next two days, the Shah and his wife greeted arriving guests, often directly at the Shiraz airport. On the evening of the 14th, a grand gala dinner took place in the Banqueting Hall in celebration of the birthday of the Shahbanu. Sixty heads of royalty and heads of state were assembled at the single large serpentine table in the Banqueting Hall. The official toast was raised with a Dom Perignon Rosé 1959.
The banquet menu was:
- quailQuailQuail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
s' eggsEgg (food)Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
stuffed with golden, Imperial CaspianCaspian SeaThe Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
caviarCaviarCaviar, sometimes called black caviar, is a luxury delicacy, consisting of processed, salted, non-fertilized sturgeon roe. The roe can be "fresh" or pasteurized, the latter having much less culinary and economic value....
(the Shah had artichokes as he was allergic to caviar), Champagne and Château de SaranSaran, LoiretSaran is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France.Saran has, compared to its size, many sports facilities including two stadiums, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, one swimming pool and four gymnasiums. This is due to the policy of the communist mayor of Saran, Michel Guérin, that... - mousseMousseMousse is derived from the French word mousse which means "lather" or "foam". A mousse is a prepared food that incorporates air bubbles to give it a light and airy texture...
of crayfishCrayfishCrayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...
tails with Nantua sauceNantua sauceNantua sauce is a classical French sauce consisting of:*a Béchamel sauce base*cream*crayfish butter*crayfish tailsThe term à la Nantua may be used in classical French cuisine to refer to any dish containing crayfish....
, Château Haut-BrionChâteau Haut-BrionChâteau Haut-Brion is a French wine, rated a Premier Cru Classé , produced in the Gironde region. It differs from the other wines on the list in its geographic location in the north of the wine-growing region of Graves...
Blanc 1964 - roast saddle of lamb with truffles, Château Lafite Rothschild 1945
- champagne sorbet, Moët et ChandonMoët et ChandonMoët & Chandon , or Moët, is a French winery and co-owner of the luxury goods company Moët-Hennessy • Louis Vuitton. Moët et Chandon is one of the world's largest champagne producers and a prominent champagne house. The company holds a Royal Warrant to supply champagne to Elizabeth II...
1911 - 50 roast peacocks—Iran's ancient national symbol—with restored tail feathers stuffed with foie grasFoie grasFoie gras ; French for "fat liver") is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. This fattening is typically achieved through gavage corn, according to French law, though outside of France it is occasionally produced using natural feeding...
, accompanied by roast quails and a nut and truffle salad MusignyMusignyMusigny is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-References:*...
Conte de Vogué 1945 - glazed oporto ring of fresh figsFIGSFIGS is an acronym for French, Italian, German, Spanish. These are usually the first four languages chosen to localize products into when a company enters the European market....
with cream, raspberryRaspberryThe raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
champagne sherbetSharbatSharbat or Sherbet is a popular Middle Eastern and South Asian drink that is prepared from fruits or flower petals. It is sweet and served chilled...
and port, Dom PerignonDom Pérignon (wine)Dom Pérignon is a brand of vintage Champagne produced by the Champagne house Moët & Chandon and serves as that house's prestige champagne. It is named after Dom Pérignon, a Benedictine monk who was an important quality pioneer for Champagne wine but who, contrary to popular myths, did not discover...
RoséRoséA rosé is a type of wine that has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques.- Production techniques :There are three major ways to produce rosé...
1959 reserve vintage - mocha coffeeCafe MochaA caffè mocha or café mochaAs elsewhere in coffee naming, the Italian caffè and French café are commonly found, as are the hyperforeignisms caffé and cafè, which confuse the accents. Also, in Italian, the correct spelling is Moka, used both for the city and the Moka pot. "Mocha", by contrast, is...
- cognacCognac (drink)Cognac , named after the town of Cognac in France, is a variety of brandy. It is produced in the wine-growing region surrounding the town from which it takes its name, in the French Departements of Charente and Charente-Maritime....
Prince Eugène
Six hundred guests dined over five and a half hours thus making for the longest and most lavish official banquet in modern history as recorded in successive editions of the Guinness Book of World Records. A son et lumière
Son et lumière (show)
Son et lumière , or a sound and light show, is a form of nighttime entertainment that is usually presented in an outdoor venue of historic significance....
show and fireworks, accompanied by Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
' specially-commissioned electronic music piece Persepolis concluded the evening. The next day saw a parade of armies of different Iranian empires covering two and half millennia by 1,724 men of the Iranian armed forces, all in period costume. In the evening a less formal "traditional Persian party" was held in the Banqueting Hall as the concluding event at Persepolis.
On the final day, the Shah inaugurated the Shahyad Tower (later renamed the Azadi Tower
Azadi Tower
The Azadi Tower , previously known as the Shahyād Āryāmehr , is the symbol of Tehran, the capital of Iran, and marks the entrance to the city.-Construction:...
after the Iranian revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
) in Tehran to commemorate the event. The tower was also home to the Museum of Persian History. In it was displayed the Cyrus Cylinder
Cyrus cylinder
The Cyrus Cylinder is an ancient clay cylinder, now broken into several fragments, on which is written a declaration in Akkadian cuneiform script in the name of the Achaemenid king Cyrus the Great. It dates from the 6th century BC and was discovered in the ruins of Babylon in Mesopotamia in 1879...
, which the Shah promoted as "the first human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
charter in history",. The cylinder was also the official symbol of the celebrations, and the Shah's first speech at Cyrus' tomb praised the freedom that it had proclaimed, two and a half millennia previously. The festivities were concluded with the Shah paying homage to his father, Reza Shah Pahlavi, at his mausoleum.
The event brought together the rulers of two of the oldest extant monarchies, the Shah and Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I , born Tafari Makonnen, was Ethiopia's regent from 1916 to 1930 and Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974...
. By the end of the decade, both monarchies had ceased to exist. Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
said of the event: "This was no party of the year, it was the celebration of 25 centuries!"
Security
Security was a major concern. Persepolis was a favorable site for the festivities as it was isolated and thus could be tightly guarded, a very important consideration when many of the world's leaders were gathered there. Iran's security services, SAVAKSAVAK
SAVAK was the secret police, domestic security and intelligence service established by Iran's Mohammad Reza Shah on the recommendation of the British Government and with the help of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency SAVAK (Persian: ساواک, short for سازمان اطلاعات و امنیت کشور...
, took into preventive custody anyone it suspected to be a potential troublemaker.
Criticism
In retrospect, the event can be considered the swan songSwan song
"Swan song" is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture, effort, or performance given just before death or retirement. The phrase refers to an ancient belief that the Mute Swan is completely silent during its lifetime until the moment just before death, when it sings one beautiful song...
of the Iranian monarchy. Arguably, it was the most notable international social event in the 20th century involving royalty
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
and heads of state. The festivities were criticized for their lavishness and it was opined that the money could have been better spent by supplying social services. Such critiques were voiced in the western press and by Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini was an Iranian religious leader and politician, and leader of the 1979 Iranian Revolution which saw the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran...
and his followers – Khomeini called it the "Devil's Festival.". Expenses were said to be as high as $200 million, while the Ministry of the Court placed the cost at $17 million; Ansari, one of the organizers, puts it at $22 million. The actual figure is difficult to calculate exactly and is a partisan issue. The defenders of the activities point out other benefits such as the opening of 3,200 schools, improvements in infrastructure, and the positive effect on Iran's international public relations. The event was officially denounced after the Iranian Revolution
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution refers to events involving the overthrow of Iran's monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and its replacement with an Islamic republic under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the...
.
Revolutionary critics claimed that the event highlighted Mohammed Reza Shah's loss of touch with the general public. Critics of the regime claimed Mohammed Reza Shah was too secular, un-Islamic, and westernized, and that his shunning of Islam's role in Iran alienated the general population from the regime, who began to see the Shah as a puppet of the west, trying to impress it and court it by westernizing Iran. The cost of the event added to the impression that the regime was authoritarian and didn't care about its people.
Today
Persepolis remains a major tourist attraction in Iran and apparently there are suggestions to rehabilitate the archeological site as it is a proclamation of Iranian history. The rededicated Azadi TowerAzadi Tower
The Azadi Tower , previously known as the Shahyād Āryāmehr , is the symbol of Tehran, the capital of Iran, and marks the entrance to the city.-Construction:...
is a major landmark in Tehran. The mausoleum of Reza Shah Pahlavi
Reza Shah's mausoleum
Reza Shah's Mausoleum, located in Ray south of Tehran, was the burial ground of Reza Shah, the penultimate king of Iran.In the early days of the Iranian Revolution in May 1979, Reza Shah's mausoleum was destroyed in an act of desecration of the dead and gross vandalism by bulldozers and dynamite...
was destroyed after the revolution and replaced by an Islamic religious school.
List of guests
Elizabeth II had been advised not to attend, with security being an issue (The Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
and The Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
represented her instead). Other major leaders who did not attend were Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Georges Pompidou
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou was a French politician. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, holding the longest tenure in this position, and later President of the French Republic from 1969 until his death in 1974.-Biography:...
. Nixon had initially planned to attend but later changed his mind and sent Spiro Agnew
Spiro Agnew
Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
instead.
Some of the guests who were invited include:
Royals and viceroys
- Emperor Haile Selassie of EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
- King Frederick IXFrederick IX of DenmarkFrederick IX was King of Denmark from 20 April 1947 until his death on 14 January 1972....
and Queen Ingrid of DenmarkIngrid of SwedenIngrid of Sweden was a Swedish princess and the queen consort of King Frederick IX of Denmark.-Background:... - King Baudouin I and Queen Fabiola of BelgiumQueen Fabiola of BelgiumQueen Fabiola of Belgium is the widow of King Baudouin of Belgium. She was Queen consort of the Belgians for 33 years...
- King Hussein and Princess Muna of Jordan
- King MahendraMahendra of NepalPossibly no heir for the time period of 1911 through 1920. Previous Crown Prince: Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, from 1906 to 1911....
and Queen Ratna of NepalRatna, Queen Mother of NepalRatna Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah was Queen Consort of Nepal from 1955 to 1972 and Queen Mother from 1972 to 2008 when the royal family were stripped of all titles and provileges... - King Olav V of NorwayOlav V of NorwayOlav V was the king of Norway from 1957 until his death. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of King Haakon VII of Norway and Queen Maud of Norway...
- Emir Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah of BahrainIsa ibn Salman Al KhalifahIsa bin Salman Al Khalifa, GCB, GCMG was the monarch or emir of Bahrain from 1961 until his death. Born in the town of Jasra, he became emir upon the death of his father, Salman ibn Hamad. On May 8, 1949, he married his only wife, Shaikha Hessa bint Salman Al Khalifa .Isa's reign saw Bahrain gain...
- King Constantine IIConstantine II of Greece|align=right|Constantine II was King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, the sixth and last monarch of the Greek Royal Family....
and Queen Anne-Marie of GreeceQueen Anne-Marie of GreeceQueen Anne-Marie of Greece is the wife of former King Constantine II of Greece, who was deposed in referendums in 1973 and in 1974. Her title "Queen of Greece" is not recognized under the terms of the republican Constitution of Greece... - Sultan Qaboos of OmanQaboos of OmanQaboos bin Said Al Said is the Sultan of Oman and its Dependencies. He rose to power after overthrowing his father, Said bin Taimur, in a palace coup in 1970. He is the 14th-generation descendant of the founder of the Al Bu Sa'idi dynasty.-Early life:...
- Prince Abdul Wali Khan and Princess Bilqis Begum of Afghanistan
- King Moshoeshoe II of LesothoMoshoeshoe II of LesothoMoshoeshoe II , previously known as Constantine Bereng Seeiso, was the paramount chief of Lesotho, succeeding paramount chief Seeiso from 1960 until the country gained full independence from Britain in 1966...
- Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tunku Abdul Halim of Malaysia
- President Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan of the United Arab Emirates
- Prince Franz Josef II and Princess Georgina of Liechtenstein
- Prince Rainier IIIRainier III, Prince of MonacoRainier III, Prince of Monaco , styled His Serene Highness The Sovereign Prince of Monaco, ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest ruling monarchs of the 20th century.Though he was best known outside of Europe for having married American...
and Princess Grace of MonacoGrace KellyGrace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of... - Grand Duke JeanJean, Grand Duke of LuxembourgGrand Duke Jean of Luxembourg ruled Luxembourg from 1964 to 2000. He is the father of the current ruler, Grand Duke Henri, and the son of Grand Duchess Charlotte and Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma...
Grand Duchess Josephine Charlotte of LuxembourgPrincess Joséphine-Charlotte of BelgiumPrincess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium was Grand Duchess of Luxembourg as spouse of Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg... - Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands
- Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
, and Princess AnneAnne, Princess RoyalPrincess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
of the United Kingdom - Princess Salimah Aga Khan
- Crown Prince Carl Gustaf of SwedenCarl XVI Gustaf of SwedenCarl XVI Gustaf is the reigning King of Sweden since 15 September 1973, succeeding his grandfather King Gustaf VI Adolf because his father had predeceased him...
- Prince Juan CarlosJuan Carlos I of SpainJuan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
and Princess Sofia of SpainQueen Sofía of SpainQueen Sofía of Spain is the wife of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.-Early life and family:Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was born in Psychiko, Athens, Greece on 2 November 1938, the eldest child of the King Paul of Greece and his wife, Queen Frederika , a former princess of Hanover... - Prince Victor EmmanuelVittorio Emanuele, Prince of NaplesVittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples, formerly Crown Prince of Italy is the only son of the Umberto II, the last King of Italy. He is commonly known in Italy as Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia...
and Princess Marina of ItalyMarina, Princess of NaplesMarina, Crown Princess of Italy, Princess of Naples is a Swiss-born water skier who married to Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples. The titles of the Italian Royal Family are not recognized under the terms of the republican Constitution of Italy... - Prince MikasaPrince Mikasais a member of the Imperial House of Japan. He is the fourth and youngest son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei. His eldest brother was Emperor Shōwa , and is the only surviving paternal uncle of Emperor Akihito. With the death of his sister-in-law, Princess Takamatsu , on 17 December 2004, he...
and Princess Yuriko of Japan - Prince Bhanubandhu Yugala of Thailand
- Prince Moulay AbdallahPrince Moulay Abdallah of MoroccoPrince Moulay Abdallah of Morocco was the brother of Hassan II, later King Hassan of Morocco and the son of King Mohammed V of Morocco and his wife Lalla Abla bint Tahar .-Family:...
and Princess Lamia of Morocco - Prince Makhosini of SwazilandMakhosini DlaminiPrince Makhosini Jaheso Dlamini was Prime Minister of Swaziland from 16 May 1967 to 31 March 1976.Dlamini was also the country's foreign minister from 1968 to 1970....
- Governor General Roland MichenerRoland MichenerDaniel Roland Michener , commonly known as Roland Michener, was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 20th since Canadian Confederation....
of Canada - Governor-General Sir Paul HasluckPaul HasluckSir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
of Australia
Presidents and Prime Ministers
- President Josip Broz TitoJosip Broz TitoMarshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
and spouse Jovanka BrozJovanka BrozJovanka Budisavljević Broz is the former First Lady of Yugoslavia and the widow of Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito. They were married from 1952 until his death in 1980...
of Yugoslavia - President Nikolai PodgornyNikolai PodgornyNikolai Viktorovich Podgorny was a Soviet Ukrainian statesman during the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, or leader of the Ukrainian SSR, from 1957 to 1963 and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1965 to 1977...
of the Soviet Union - President Franz JonasFranz JonasFranz Josef Jonas was an Austrian political figure. He served as the seventh President of Austria, between 1965 and 1974....
of Austria - President Todor ZhivkovTodor ZhivkovTodor Khristov Zhivkov was a communist politician and leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from March 4, 1954 until November 10, 1989....
of Bulgaria - President Emílio Garrastazu MédiciEmílio Garrastazu MédiciEmílio Garrastazu Médici, was a Brazilian military leader and politician. His rightist rule from 1969 to 1974, marked the apex of military governments in Brazil.-Early life:...
of Brazil - President Urho KekkonenUrho KekkonenUrho Kaleva Kekkonen , was a Finnish politician who served as Prime Minister of Finland and later as the eighth President of Finland . Kekkonen continued the “active neutrality” policy of his predecessor President Juho Kusti Paasikivi, a doctrine which came to be known as the “Paasikivi–Kekkonen...
of Finland - President Cevdet SunayCevdet SunayCevdet Sunay was a Turkish army officer, political leader and the fifth President of Turkey.He was born in 1899 in Çaykara, Trabzon Province, in the Ottoman Empire. After attending elementary school and middle school in Erzurum and Edirne, he graduated from Kuleli Military High School in Istanbul...
of Turkey - President Pal LosoncziPál LosoncziPál Losonczi was a Hungarian Communist political figure. He was Chairman of the Hungarian Presidential Council from 1967 to 1987....
of Hungary - President Ludvík SvobodaLudvík Svobodathumb|Svoboda and [[I Corps |I Czechoslovak Army Corps]]Ludvík Svoboda was a Czechoslovak general and politician...
of Czechoslovakia - President Yahya KhanYahya KhanGeneral Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan Qizilbash, H.Pk, HJ, S.Pk, psc was the third President of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971, following the resignation of Ayub Khan...
of Pakistan - President Suleiman Franjieh of Lebanon
- President Jacobus Johannes FouchéJacobus Johannes FouchéJacobus Johannes Fouché served as the second President of South Africa from 1968 to 1975.Born in the Boer republic of the Orange Free State , Fouché was a successful farmer...
of South Africa - President Leopold Sedar SenghorLéopold Sédar SenghorLéopold Sédar Senghor was a Senegalese poet, politician, and cultural theorist who for two decades served as the first president of Senegal . Senghor was the first African elected as a member of the Académie française. Before independence, he founded the political party called the Senegalese...
of Senegal - President V. V. GiriV. V. GiriVarahagiri Venkata Giri , commonly known as V. V. Giri, was the fourth President of the Republic of India from 24 August 1969 to 23 August 1974.-Early life:...
of IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - President Moktar Ould DaddahMoktar Ould DaddahMoktar Ould Daddah was the President of Mauritania from 1960, when his country gained its independence from France, to 1978, when he was deposed in a military coup d'etat.- Background :...
of Mauritania - President Hubert MagaHubert MagaCoutoucou Hubert Maga was a politician from Dahomey .Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. See . He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what region in Dahomey they lived...
of Dahomey - President Nicolae CeauşescuNicolae CeausescuNicolae Ceaușescu was a Romanian Communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and as such was the country's second and last Communist leader...
and First Lady and Deputy Prime Minister Elena CeauşescuElena CeausescuElena Ceaușescu was the wife of Romania's Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu, and Deputy Prime Minister of Romania.-Background:She was born Elena Petrescu into a peasant family in Petrești commune, Dâmboviţa County, in the informal region of Wallachia. Her family was supported by her father's job...
of Romania - President Joseph Mobutu of Zaire
- President Rudolf GnägiRudolf GnägiRudolf Gnägi was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council ....
of Switzerland - Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-DelmasJacques Chaban-DelmasJacques Chaban-Delmas was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Prime Minister under Georges Pompidou from 1969 to 1972. In addition, for almost half a century, he was Mayor of Bordeaux and a deputy for the Gironde département....
of France - Prime Minister Kim Jong-pilKim Jong-pilKim Jong-pil is a South Korean politician and founder of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency , who served as Prime Minister twice, from 1971–1975 and from 1998–2000.-Early life:...
of South Korea - Prime Minister Emilio ColomboEmilio ColomboEmilio Colombo is an Italian politician who was Prime Minister of Italy from 1970 to 1972. In addition to having held top positions in Italian governments, he was also active in European politics.-Biography:...
of Italy - Vice President Mieczysław KlimaszewskiMieczysław KlimaszewskiMieczysław Marian Klimaszewski was a Polish geographer, geomorphologist and politician....
of Poland - Vice President Spiro AgnewSpiro AgnewSpiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
of the United States - President of the Bundestag Kai-Uwe von HasselKai-Uwe von HasselKai-Uwe von Hassel was a German politician from Schleswig-Holstein associated with the CDU party.Von Hassel was born in Gare, German East Africa ....
of West Germany - Foreign Minister Rui Patrício of Portugal
- First Lady Imelda MarcosImelda MarcosImelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
of the Philippines