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Prince Aly Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960)

13/6/2020

Profile of Ali Khan

Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was a son of Sultan Mahommed Shah, Aga Khan III, the leader of the Nizārī Ismaili Muslims, a sect of Shia Islam, and the father of Aga Khan IV.

A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, he was the third husband of actress Rita Hayworth. After being passed over for succession as Aga Khan, he served as the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations from 1958 to 1960, where he became a vice president of the General Assembly.

His first name was typically spelled "Aly" in the press. The titles of prince and princess, which are claimed by children of the Aga Khan by virtue of their descent from the Qajar king Fath Ali Shah of the Iranian (Persian) Qajar dynasty, were recognized as courtesy titles by the British government in 1938.

Aly Khan photo by Bassano Ltd in 1929

Biogrophy of Ali Khan

Aly Khan was born in Turin, Italy, the younger son and only surviving child of the Aga Khan III and Cleope Teresa "Ginetta" Magliano. His father was born in Karachi, British India (now in modern-day Pakistan). His mother was an Italian bellerina. Aly Khan was educated by private tutors in India and France during his childhood and later trained in England as a lawyer.

1936: First marriage

Aly Khan married his first wife the Hon. Joan Barbara Guinness (née Yarde-Buller, 1908–1997). She was the former wife of Group Captain Thomas Loel Guinness, a member of Parliament, and a daughter of the 3rd Baron Churston. The wedding took place in Paris on 18 May 1936, a few days after Joan Guinness's divorce became absolute. Before the wedding, the bride converted to Islam and took the name Tajuddawlah.

The couple were married by civil ceremony in May 1936 and they divorced in 1949, partly due to Aly's extramarital affairs with other women, in particular Pamela Churchill.

Aly Khan at his wedding, 1936

1939: military

In 1939, Prince Aly Aga Khan joined the French Foreign Legion and served with its cavalry division in Egypt and the Middle East. In 1940, he joined the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry, becoming a lieutenant colonel in 1944. That same year, he participated in the Allied landing in the south of France with the United States Seventh Army, serving as a liaison officer with the rank of captain; for this, he was made an officer in the Legion of Honor in 1950.

He also was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the United States Bronze Star Medal.

Prince Aly Khan was installed as the 1st Colonel of the Regiment of the newly raised 4 Cavalry Regiment (1 November 1956), Pakistani Army in a military ceremony during 1957 and he retained this honor until his death.

1949: second marriage and Rita Hayworth

Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth American actress on their wedding day

On 27 May (civil) and 28 May (religious) 1949, in Cannes, France, Aly Khan married American film star Rita Hayworth, who left her film career to marry him.

Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth American actress on their wedding day cutting the wedding cake

On 2 September 1951, Hayworth filed for divorce from Khan on the grounds of "extreme cruelty, entirely mental in nature." And they divorced in 1953.

Aly Khan and Gene Tierney

While still married to Rita Hayworth, Khan began a relationship with American film and stage actress Gene Tierney. After about a year, Tierney separated from the Prince and moved back to the United States to tend to her mental health.

Death: 1960

Aly Khan at meeting of United Nations, 1960

On 12 May 1960, a little more than two years after his appointment as Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN, Aly Khan sustained massive head injuries in an automobile accident in Suresnes, France, a suburb of Paris, when the car he was driving collided with another vehicle at the intersection of boulevard Henri Sellier and rue du Mont Valerien, while he and his pregnant fiancée, Bettina, were heading to a party. He died shortly afterward at Foch Hospital in Suresnes.

Aly Khan was first buried on the grounds of Château de l'Horizon, his home in the south of France, where it was intended that he would remain until a mausoleum was built for him in Syria. His remains were removed to Damascus, Syria, on 11 July 1972, and he was reinterred in Salamiyah, Syria.