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Iranian Royal Family

The shah of Iran’s son took his life Tuesday, a decade after his sister died from an overdose. Omid Memarian and Roja Heydarpour on the family heartbreak and what it means for Iran. Plus, Stephen Kinzer reports on the death of the prince.

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AFP / Getty Images
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The shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, and his wife, Farah Diba, at their wedding ceremony in Tehran on December 21, 1959.

AFP / Getty Images
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Pahlavi helps 5-year-old Princess Mahnaz light candles on Crown Prince Reza's birthday cake at the queen mother's palace in Tehran on October 30, 1963.

AP Photo
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The empress of Iran holding little Prince Ali-Reza Pahlavi in her arms after the baptismal ceremony in Tehran on May 12, 1966.

Getty Images
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Empress Farah kneels before her husband, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, as he places a crown upon her head during the coronation ceremony in Tehran on October 26, 1967.

AP Photo
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Family picture taken on October 26, 1967 in Tehran shows, from left to right, Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi, Princess Leila Pahlavi, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi, and Empress Farah Diba after the coronation ceremony of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi as shah of Iran.

AFP / Getty Images
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Mohammad Reza Pahlavi on holiday in St. Moritz with his family on February 6, 1969. From left to right, Prince Reza (aged 8), Prince Ali Reza (aged 2), Empress Farah Diba, Princess Farahnaz (aged 5) and the shah.

Central Press / Getty Images
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Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Empress Farah on holiday with their children Reza, Farahnaz, Ali Reza, and Leila, in Switzerland, 1972.

Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images
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The shah of Iran sits with his children, Princess Leila, left, and Prince Ali Reza, during a vacation in St. Moritz, January 26, 1975.

AP Photo
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Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi playing football in Tehran.

Newscom
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Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi poses with his family while vacationing in the Bahamas on March 30, 1979. From left, daughter Leila Pahlavi, son Alireza Pahlavi, the shah, his wife Farah Diba Pahlavi, and son Reza Pahlavi.

AP Photo
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Former Iranian Empress Farah Pahlavi, center, her son Reza, right, and her daughter Farahnaz pay last respects to the late Leila Pahlavi, Farah's eldest daughter. The body of the 31-year-old Leila Pahlavi, daughter of the late shah of Iran, was discovered by staff at the Leonard Hotel in London on June 10, 2001, after a drug overdose.

Patrick Gelly / AP Photo
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Iran's Prince Reza Pahlavi, left, stands by his brother Prince Ali Reza during the funeral of their sister Princess Leila Pahlavi in Paris on June 16, 2001.

Clemot Benito / AFP / Getty Images
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The oldest son of late shah of Iran, Reza, left, touches the coffin of his sister Leila Pahlavi during her funeral in Paris on June 16, 2001.

Reuters
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Empress Farah Diba Pahlavi, the former queen of Iran, discusses her life with the former shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, during an interview in McLean, Virginia, on February 20, 2004.

Newscom
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Iran's Farah Pahlavi, widow of Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, right, and her son Ali Reza Pahlavi, are seen during Prince Rainier III's funeral procession, in Monaco on April 15, 2005.

Lionel Cironneau / AP Photo
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Former Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi pauses during an address at the National Press Club June 22, 2009 in Washington, D.C. Pahlavi was commenting on recent developments in Iran and called for a secular, parliamentary, and democratic political system in Iran.

Win McNamee / Getty Images
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Ali Reza Pahlavi attends the movie premiere of Basic Instinct 2 in New York City in 2006.

Patrick Mcmullan / Sipa
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The South End home of Alireza Pahlavi in Boston, late on January 4, 2011. Pahlavi, the youngest son of the late shah of Iran, was found dead of an apparent suicide there, after he had "struggled for years to overcome his sorrow," his brother said.

Charles Krupa / AP Photo