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Shah Jahan seated on The Peacock Throne

Aurangzeb seated on The Peacock Throne, receives his son Prince Muazzam.

The Peacock Throne, called Takht-e Tâvus (Persian: تخت طاووس‎) in Persian, is the name originally given to a Mughal throne of India, which was later adopted and used to describe the thrones of the Persian rulers from Nader Shah.^[1]

History[link]

The name comes from the shape of a throne, having the figures of two peacocks standing behind it, their tails being expanded and the whole so inlaid with sapphires, rubies, emeralds, pearls and other precious stones of appropriate colors as to represent life, created for the Mughal Badshah Shah Jahan of India in the 17th century, which was in his imperial capital Delhi's Public audience hall, the Diwan-i-Am. Shah Jahan had the famous Koh-i-noor diamond placed in this throne.

The French jeweler Tavernier, who saw Delhi in 1665, described the throne as of the shape of a bed (a "takhteh" or platform), 6 ft. by 4 ft., supported by four golden feet, 20 to 25 in. high, from the bars above which rose twelve columns to support the canopy; the bars were decorated with crosses of rubies and emeralds, and also with diamonds and pearls. In all there were 108 large rubies on the throne, and 116 emeralds, but many of the latter had flaws. The twelve columns supporting the canopy were decorated with rows of splendid pearls, and Tavernier considered these to be the most valuable part of the throne. Estimates of its value varied between Rs. 40 million (Bernier) and Rs. 100 million (Tavernier).

Nader Shah invaded the Mughal Empire in 1738, and returned to Persia in 1739 with the original Peacock Throne as well as many other treasures taken from the Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah.This consist of a very large amount of Indian wealth.

According to an article by the Sunday Tribune,

It was, accordingly, ordered that, in addition to the jewels in the imperial jewel house, rubies, garnets, diamonds, rich pearls and emeralds in all weighing 230 kg should be brought for the inspection of the Emperor and they should be handed over to Bebadal Khan, the superintendent of the goldsmith’s department. There was also to be given to him 1150 kg of pure gold... The throne was to be three yards in length, two-and-a-half in breadth and five in height and was to be set with the above mentioned jewels. The outside of the canopy was to be of enamel work with occasional gems, the inside was to be thickly set with rubies, garnets and other jewels, and it was to be supported by 12 emerald columns. On the top of each pillar there were to be two peacocks, thick-set with gems and between each two peacocks a tree set with rubies and diamonds, emeralds and pearls. The ascent was to consist of three steps set with jewels of fine water". Of the 11 jewelled recesses formed around it for cushions, the middle one was intended for the seat it for Emperor. Among the historical diamonds decorating it were the famous Kohinoor (186 carats), the Akbar Shah (95 carats), the Shah (88.77 carats), the Jehangir (83 carats) and the second largest spinel ruby in the world — the Timur ruby (283 carats). A-20 couplet poem by the Mughal poet-laureate Qudsi, praising the Emperor in emerald letters was embedded in the throne. On March 12, 1635, Emperor Shah Jahan ascended for the first time the newly completed Peacock Throne. The French jeweller and traveller, Jean Baptiste Tavennier, who had the opportunity to examine the throne at close quarters, confirms the court chronicler’s description... Its place in the two fortress-palaces of Delhi and Agra was usually at the Hall of Private Audience known as Diwan-I-Khas, although it was kept at the Hall of Public Audience known as the Diwan-I-Am when larger audience were expected.^[2]

After Nader Shah was assassinated in 1747, the original Peacock Throne disappeared from the records, stolen or dismantled in the chaos that ensued. Rumors were generated claiming that the throne was given to the Ottoman Sultan.^[3] However, later Iranian thrones were erroneously referred to as Peacock Thrones, although they resemble a chair rather than a platform. An example of such a throne is the Naderi throne, built in 1812 for Fath Ali Shah Qajar. Another Iranian throne, built in 1836 for Mohammad Shah Qajar, is in fact in the shape of platform and sports legs that uncannily resemble the Indian Mughal paintings of the original Peacock Throne, and may indeed incorporate parts of the original throne. This throne, however, was known as the Takht-i Khurshid, or the "Sun Throne" (after a radiant sun disk affixed to it headboard). In time, this throne has come to commandeer the name of the legendary the Peacock Throne, although only the legs and some other unspecified parts may belong to the original throne.

Although the Qajars referred to their throne as Peacock throne, the Pahlavi throne was a reconstruction of the Achemenid throne. Since then, the term Peacock Throne has consistently been misused to refer to the throne of the Pahlavi monarchy.

Rhetorical usage[link]

The Peacock Throne is a flexible English term. It is also a rhetorical trope. Depending on context, the Peacock Throne can be construed as a metonymy, which is a rhetorical device for an allusion relying on proximity or correspondence, as for example referring to actions of the Mughal ruler or the shah or as "actions of the throne." The throne is also understood as a synecdoche, which is related to metonymy and metaphor in suggesting a play on words by identifying a closely related conceptualization, e.g.,

• referring to a part with the name of the whole, such as "the throne" for the mystic process of transferring monarchic authority, e.g.,

"The bitter example of their own family history would sooner or later have driven Dara and Shuja and Aurangzeb and Murad to contend for the Peacock Throne with desperate fury."^[4]

• referring to the whole with the name of a part, such as "the throne" for the serial symbols and ceremonies of enthronement.

• referring to the general with the specific, such as "the throne" for kingship.^[5]

• referring to the specific with the general, such as "the throne" for the truncated reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi or equally as well for the ambit of the Mughal or Persian monarchy.

See also[link]

• Imperial Crown Jewels of Persia
• Koh-i-noor diamond
• Darya-ye Noor Diamond
• Naderi throne

• National emblem
  • Throne of England and the Kings of England
  • Dragon Throne of the Emperors of China
  • Chrysanthemum Throne of the Emperors of Japan
  • Phoenix Throne of the Kings of Korea
  • Lion Throne of the Dalai Lama of Tibet
  • Golden Throne of the Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan

Notes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Imperial Jewels of Iran
• Nadir Shah throne, history
• Nadir Shah throne
• The Peacock Throne
• The Naderi Throne, later throne modeled after the Peacock Throne
• The Naderi Throne
• KN Diamond With the UK

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Shah Jahan
5th Mughal Emperor
Predecessor	Jahangir
Successor	Aurangzeb
Spouse	Mumtaz Mahal Akbarabadi Mahal Kandahari Mahal
Issue
Jahanara Begum Dara Shikoh Shah Shuja Roshanara Begum Aurangzeb Murad Baksh Gauhara Begum Others
House	Timurid dynasty
Father	Jahangir
Born	(1592-01-05)5 January 1592 Lahore, Mughal Empire(now in Pakistan)
Died	31 January 1666(1666-01-31) Agra, Mughal Empire(now in Uttar Pradesh, India)
Religion	Islam

Shah Jahan(also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan,(Urdu: شاه ‌جہاں, Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592–January 22, 1666), (full title: Shahanshah Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan al-Mukarram, Malik-ul-Sultanat, Ala Hazrat Abu'l-Muzaffar Shahab ud-din Muhammad Shah Jahan I, Sahib-i-Qiran-i-Sani, Padshah Ghazi Zillu'llah, Firdaus-Ashiyani, Shahanshah—E--Sultanant Ul Hindiya Wal Mughaliya) was the emperor of the Mughal Empire in South Asia from 1628 until 1658. The name Shah Jahan comes from Persian meaning "Ruler of Everywhere". He was the fifth Mughal emperor after Babur, Humayun, Akbar, and Jahangir. While young, he was favourite of his legendary grandfather, Akbar the Great. Shah Jahan was a direct descendant of Genghis Khan through Timur and was the heir of the Mughal Empire of Babur, he is also alleged to have been a descendant of Charlemagne.

At a young age, he was chosen as successor to the Mughal throne after the death of Emperor Jahangir. He succeeded to the throne upon his father's death in 1627. He is considered to be one of the greatest Mughals, and his reign has been called the Golden Age of the Mughals and one of the most prosperous ages of Indian civilization. Like Akbar, he was eager to expand his vast empire. In 1658, he fell ill and was confined by his son Emperor Aurangzeb in the Agra Fort until his death in 1666.

The period of his reign was the golden age of Mughal architecture. Shahanshah Shah Jahan erected many splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the legendary Taj Mahal at Agra built 1632-1648 as a tomb for his beloved wife, Empress Mumtaz Mahal. The Moti Masjid, Agra and many other buildings in Agra, the Red Fort and the Jama Masjid in Delhi, mosques in Lahore, extensions to Lahore Fort and a mosque in Thatta also commemorate him. The famous Takht-e-Taus or the Peacock Throne, said to be worth millions of dollars by modern estimates, also dates from his reign. He was also the founder of the new imperial capital called Shahjahanabad, now known as Old Delhi. Other important buildings of Shah Jahan's rule were the Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas in the Red Fort Complex in Delhi and the Moti Masjid in the Lahore Fort. Shah Jahan is also believed to have the most refined of the tastes in arts and architecture and is credited to have commissioned about 777 gardens in Kashmir, his favourite summer residence. A few of these gardens survive and attract thousands of tourists every year.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, rescuing his serviceman using a Matchlock during a campaign.

Baadshah Shah Jahan was born as Prince Shihab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram, on January 5, 1592 in Lahore, Pakistan as the third and favourite son of the emperor Jahangir from his Rajput wife Gossaini. The name Khurram-Persian for 'joyful'-was given by his grandfather Akbar. His early years saw him receive a cultured, broad education and he distinguished himself in the martial arts and as a military commander while leading his father's armies in numerous campaigns against Mewar(1615 CE, 1024 AH), the Deccan Sultanates(1617 and 1621 CE, 1026 and 1030 AH), Kangra Fort(1618 CE, 1027AH). He was responsible for most of the territorial gains during his father's reign. Shah Jahan was also very well known and praised for his bravery, as a young man he is known to have rescued an imperial serviceman from an ambushing lions.

He also demonstrated a precocious talent for building, impressing his father Jahangir at the age of 16 when he built his quarters within his great grandfather the Mughal Emperor Babur's Kabul fort and redesigned buildings within Agra fort. He also carries the universally famous titles like "The builder of marvels ". Shah Jahan was also chosen by his father Jahangir to acknowledge the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri and early manual on statesmanship and administration in the Mughal Empire.

Marriage[link]

Mumtaz Mahal

In 1607 AD (1016 AH), Prince Khurram, also known as Shah Jahan, was betrothed to Arjumand Banu Begum who was just 14 years old at the time. She was also the niece of the famous queen of Jehangir-Nur Mahal. She would become the unquestioned love of his life. They would, however, have to wait five years before they were married in 1612 AD (1021 AH), on a date selected by the court astrologers as most conducive to ensuring a happy marriage. After their wedding celebrations, Khurram "finding her in appearance and character elect among all the women of the time," gave her the title Mumtaz Mahal (Jewel of the Palace).

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan is accompanied by his three sons: Dara Shikoh, Shah Shuja and Aurangzeb, including their maternal grandfather Asaf Khan IV.

Mumtaz Mahal had 14 children. Despite her frequent pregnancies, she travelled with Shah Jahan's entourage throughout his earlier military campaigns and the subsequent rebellion against his father. Mumtaz Mahal was utterly devoted—she was his constant companion and trusted confidante and their relationship was intense. She is portrayed by Shah Jahan's chroniclers as the perfect wife with no aspirations to political power. This is in direct opposition to how her aunt Nur Jahan had been perceived. Mumtaz died in Burhanpur in 1631 AD (1040 AH), while giving birth to their fourteenth child, a healthy baby girl. She had been accompanying her husband while he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was temporarily buried at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad originally constructed by Shah Jahan's uncle Daniyal on the bank of the Tapti River.

The intervening years had seen Khurrum take two other wives known as Akbarabadi Mahal (d.1677 CE, 1088 AH), and Kandahari Mahal (b. c1594 CE, c1002 AH), (m.1609 CE, 1018 AH).

According to the official court chronicler Qazwini, the relationship with his other wives "had nothing more than the status of marriage. The intimacy, deep affection, attention and favor which His Majesty had for the Cradle of Excellence [Mumtaz Mahal] exceeded by a thousand times what he felt for any other."

Accession[link]

Jahangir receives prince Khurram of his returns from deccan

Inheritance of power and wealth in the Mughal empire was not determined through primogeniture, but by princely sons competing to achieve military successes and consolidating their power at court. This often led to rebellions and wars of succession. As a result, a complex political climate surrounded the Mughal court in Shahzada Khurram's formative years. In 1611 his father married Nur Jahan, the widowed daughter of an Afghan Noble. She rapidly became an important member of Emperor Jahangir's court and, together with her brother Asaf Khan, wielded considerable influence. Arjumand was Asaf Khan's daughter and her marriage to Prince Khurram consolidated Nur Jahan and Asaf Khan's positions at court.

In the year 1614, Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan) commanded a vast Mughal Army consisting of over 200,000 Sowars and subdued the Rajput Maharana of Mewar, who surrendered and submitted to Prince Khurram.

Khurram's intense military successes of 1617 CE (1026 AH) against the Lodi in the Deccan effectively secured the southern border of the empire and his grateful father rewarded him with the prestigious title 'Shah Jahan Bahadur' (Brave King of the World) which implicitly sealed his inheritance. Court intrigues, however, including Nur Jahan's decision to have her daughter from her first marriage wed Shah Jahan's youngest brother Shahzada Shahryar and her support for his claim to the throne led Khurram, supported by Muhabbat Khan, into open revolt against his father in 1622.

The rebellion was quelled by Jahangir's forces in 1626 and Khurram was forced to submit unconditionally. Upon the death of Jahangir in 1627, Prince Khurram succeeded to the Mughal throne as Shah Jahan, King of the World, the latter title alluding to his pride in his Timurid roots and his ambitious the history. Shahanshah Shah Jahan's first act as ruler was to execute his chief rivals and imprison his step mother Nur Jahan. This allowed Shan Jahan to rule without contention.

Administration of the Mughal Empire[link]

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan at his Durbar.

Although his father's rule was generally peaceful, the empire was experiencing challenges by the end of his reign. In 1628, immediately after becoming Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan's forces were ambushed by Sikh rebels, the Emperor organized an assault, which caused almost all the Sikhs, including Guru Hargobind and his mercenaries to flee.^[1] Shah Jahan repulsed the Portuguese in Bengal, capturing the Rajput kingdoms of Baglana, Mewar and Bundelkhand to the west and the northwest beyond the Khyber Pass. He then chose his 16 year old son Aurangzeb to serve in his place and subdue the rebellion by the Bundela Rajputs led by the renegade Jhujhar Singh. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan then chose his son Aurangzeb to become the Subedar of Deccan and ordered the annexation of Ahmednagar and the overthrow of the Nizam Shahi dynasty.

Shah Jahan and his sons captured the city of Kandahar in 1638 from the Safavids, prompting the retaliation of the Persians led by their powerful ruler Abbas II of Persia, who recaptured it in 1649, the Mughal armies were unable to recapture it despite repeated sieges during the Mughal–Safavid War.

Evidence from the reign of Shah Jahan in the year 1648 states that the army consisted of 911,400 infantry, musketeers, and artillery men, and 185,000 Sowars commanded by princes and nobles and were maintained out of the revenues of the Mughal Empire which amounted to 120,071,876,840 dams. During his reign the Marwari horse was introduced becoming Shah Jahan's favorite and various Mughal Cannons were mass produced in the Jaigarh Fort. Under his rule, the empire became a huge military machine and the nobles and their contingents multiplied almost fourfold, as did the demands for more revenue from the peasantry. But due to his measures in the financial and commercial fields, it was a period of general stability—the administration was centralised and court affairs systematized.

The Mughal Empire continued to expand moderately during his reign as his sons commanded large armies on different fronts. Above all it is obligatory to mention here that India became the richest centre of the arts, crafts and architecture and some of the best of the architects, artisians, craftsmens, painters and writers of the world resided in his empire, it is believed that the Mughal Empire had the highest gross domestic produce in the world.

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan also intended to construct his capitol at Agra as an urban center that would rival both Istanbul and Isfahan in all its wealth and cultural lifestyle.

Foreign Relations[link]

The Surrender of Kandahar, a miniature painting from the Padshahnama depicting the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's successful capture of the city in the year 1638.^[2]

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan gave orders in 1631 to Qasim Khan, the Mughal viceroy of Bengal, to drive out the Portuguese from their trading post at Port Hoogly, the trading post was heavily armed with cannons, battleships, fortified walls, and other instruments of war.^[3] The Portuguese were accused of trafficking by high Mughal officials and due to commercial competition the Mughal-controlled port of Saptagram began to slump. The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan was particularly outraged by the activities of Jesuits in that region particularly when they were accused of abducting peasants.^[4] On September 25, 1632 the Mughal Army raised imperial banners and gained control over the Bandel region and the renegade garrison was punished.^[5]

While he was encamped in Baghdad, Sultan Murad IV is known to have met the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's ambassadors: Mir Zarif and Mir Baraka, who presented 1000 pieces of finely embroidered cloth and even armor. Murad IV gifted them with the finest weapons, saddles and Kaftans and ordered his forces to accompany the Mughals to the port of Basra, where they set sail to Thatta and finally Surat.

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan had exchanged ambassadors and documents with the Ottoman Sultan Murad IV, it was through these exchanges led by the Mughal ambassador Sayyid Muhiuddin and his counterpart the Ottoman ambassador Arsalan Agha, that Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan received Mimar Yusuf, Isa Muhammad Effendi and Ismail Effendi, two Turkish architects and students of the famous Koca Mimar Sinan Agha. Both of them later comprised among the Mughal team that would design and build the Taj Mahal.

Mir Jumla II, who in the 1640s had his own ships and organized merchant fleets that sailed throughout: Surat, Thatta, Arakan, Ayuthya, Balasore, Aceh, Melaka, Johore, Bantam, Makassar, Ceylon, Bandar Abbas, Mecca, Jeddah, Basra, Aden, Masqat, Mocha and the Maldives. His merchant fleet could only be rivaled by Abdul Goffur of Surat although other nobles such as Asaf Khan and Safi Khan owned seaborne vessels.

Patronage of the arts[link]

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, using his Matchlock during a hunting expedition.

Shah Jahan's reign saw some of India's most well-known architectural and artistic accomplishments. The land revenue of the Mughal Empire under Shah Jahan was higher than that of any other Mughal ruler. The magnificence of Shah Jahan’s court was commented upon by several European travelers and by ambassadors from other parts of the world, including Francois Bernier and Thomas Roe. His famous Peacock Throne, with its trail blazing in the shifting natural colors of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, was valued by the jeweller Tavernier at 6½ million pounds sterling.

Under Shah Jahan's rule, Mughal artistic and architectural achievements reached their zenith. Shah Jahan was a prolific builder with a highly refined aesthetic sense. Among his surviving buildings are the Red Fort and Jama Masjid in Delhi, the Shalimar Gardens of Lahore, sections of the Lahore Fort(such as Sheesh Mahal, and Naulakha pavilion), and his Tomb of Jahangir.

Legend has it that Shah Jahan wanted to build a black Taj Mahal for himself. There is no reputable scholarship to support this hypothesis, however, nor for other horrific legends that Shah Jahan maimed, blinded, or killed those responsible for designing and building the Taj Mahal.

Fate[link]

The Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his eldest son Dara Shikoh.

When Shah Jahan became ill in 1658 CE (1067 AH), Dara Shikoh(Mumtaz Mahal's eldest son) assumed the role of regent in his father's stead, which swiftly incurred the animosity of his brothers. Upon learning of his assumption of the regency, his younger brothers, Shuja, Viceroy of Bengal, and Murad Baksh, Viceroy of Gujarat, declared their independence, and marched upon Agra in order to claim their riches. Aurangzeb, the third son, and ablest and most virile of the brothers, gathered a well trained army and became its in chief commander, he faced his elder brother and heir apparent Dara's army close to Agra and completely defeated him during the Battle of Samugarh. Although Shah Jahan fully recovered from his illness, Aurangzeb declared him incompetent to rule and put him under house arrest in Agra Fort.

Jahanara Begum Sahib, Jahan's first daughter, voluntarily shared his 8-year confinement and nursed him in his dotage. In January 1666 (1076 AH), Shah Jahan fell ill with strangury and dysentery. Confined to bed, he became progressively weaker until, on 22 January, he commanded the ladies of the imperial court, particularly his consort of later years Akbarabadi Mahal, to the care of Jahanara. After reciting the Islamic declaration of faith (Laa ilaaha illa l-laah) and verses from the Quran, he one of the greatest of the Mughal Emperors died.

Princess Jahanara planned a state funeral which was to include a procession with Shah Jahan's body carried by eminent nobles followed by the notable citizens of Agra and officials scattering coins for the poor and needy. Aurangzeb refused to accommodate such ostentation and the body was washed in accordance with Islamic rites, taken by river in a sandalwood coffin to the Taj Mahal and was interred there next to the body of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Contributions to architecture[link]

The Shalimar Gardens, comprising over four-hundred fountains, were built by the Mughal emperor.

The Taj Mahal is the most notable example of Islamic architecture in South Asia it was constructed according to the commands of the famous Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.

Shah Jahan left behind a grand legacy of structures constructed during his reign. He was one of the greatest patrons of Islamic architecture. His most famous building was the Taj Mahal, now a wonder of the world, which he built out of love for his wife the empress Mumtaz Mahal.

Its structure was drawn with great care and architects from all over the world were called for this purpose. The building took twenty years to complete and was constructed from white marble underlaid with brick. Upon his death, his son Aurangazeb had him interred in it next to Mumtaz Mahal. Among his other constructions are Delhi Fort also called the Red Fort or Lal Qila(Urdu) in Delhi, large sections of Agra Fort, the Jama Masjid(Grand Mosque), Delhi, the Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore, Pakistan, the Moti Masjid (Pearl Mosque), Lahore, the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, sections of the Lahore Fort, Lahore, the Jahangir mausoleum—his father's tomb, the construction of which was overseen by his stepmother Nur Jahan and the Shahjahan Mosque, Thatta, Pakistan. He also had the Peacock Throne, Takht e Taus, made to celebrate his rule. Shah Jahan also placed profound verses of the Quran on his masterpieces of architecture.

A famous seamless celestial globe was produced in 1659-1660 AD (1070 AH), by the Sindhi astronomer Muhammad Salih Tahtawi of Thatta with Arabic and Persian inscriptions.

Contribution to the arts[link]

The imperial Pearl Mosque of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.

All the inscriptions on the Taj Mahal tombs of Shah Jahan and his wife are in Persian Calligraphy on the tombs and on the Agra Fort quranic Calligraphy and Persian poem in Nastaʿlīqinscription. Shah Jahan's cenotaph is bigger than that of his wife, but reflects the same elements: a larger casket on a slightly taller base, again decorated with astonishing precision with lapidary and calligraphy that identifies him.

The pen box and writing tablet were traditional Persian funerary icons decorating the caskets of men and women respectively. The Ninety Nine Names of God are found as calligraphic inscriptions in Persian nastNastaʿlīqinscription style of calligraphic on the sides of the actual tomb of Mumtaz Mahal, in the crypt including "O Noble, O Magnificent, O Majestic, O Unique, O Eternal, O Glorious... ". The tomb of Shah Jahan bears a calligraphic inscription that reads; "He traveled from this world to the banquet-hall of Eternity on the night of the twenty-sixth of the month of Rajab, in the year 1076 Hijri."

Jama Masjid, Delhi one of the largest mosques in the Mughal Empire was completed during the reign of Shah Jahan.

written in Persian: مرقد منور ارجمندبانو بیگم مخاطب بممتاز محل توفی سنه... the bright tomb of arjmand banou beegom famous as Mumtaz mahal(the best of the rigion) died year. مرقد مطهر اعلیحضرت فردوس آشیانی صاحبقران ثانی شاه جهان طاب ثراه سنه 1076 ق) the purified shrine of his majesty resident of paradise the highness Shahjahan the Magnificent rest his soul in peace. year1076 H.G.

Shah Jahan was very interested in Persian inscription and a Persian poet who requested a famous Persian calligrapher to decorate his palace and castles.

Shah Jahan's coins[link]

• 

  Silver rupee(5)

• 

  Silver Rupee(2)

• 

  Silver rupee(3)

• 

  Silver rupee(4)

• 

  Copper Dam

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shah Jahan

• Agra
• Delhi
• Lahore
• Mughal architecture
• Mumtaz Mahal
• Nur Jahan
• Shah Jahan Mosque
• Taj Mahal

Notes[link]

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Asher, Catherine Ella Blanshard (2003) (Hardback). The New Cambridge History of India, Vol I:4 - Architecture of Mughal India (First published 1992, reprinted 2001,2003 ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 368. ISBN 0-521-26728-5. 
• Padshah Nama, a book written by Abdul Hamid Lahori
• Shah Jahan Nama/Amal-i-salih by Inayat Khan/Muhammad Saleh Kamboh
• Nushka i Dilkhusha by Bhimsen
• Bernier, Francois, Travels in the Mogal Empire (1656–68), revised by V.A. Smith, Archibald Constable, Oxford 1934.
• Tavernier, Jean Baptiste, Travels in India, trs. and ed. by V.Ball, 2 Vols. Macmillan, 1889, 1925.
• De Laet, Joannes, The Empire of the Great Mogol, trs. by Hoyland and Banerjee, Bombay 1928.
• Peter Mundy. Travels of Peter Mundy in Asia, ed. Richard Carnac Temple, Hakluyt Society, London 1914.
• Manucci, Niccolao, Storia do Mogor, Eng. trs. by W. Irvine, 4 vols. Hohn Murray, London 1906.
• Manrique, Travels of Frey Sebastian Manrique, trs. by Eckford Luard, 2 Vols. Hakluyt Society, London 1927.
• Lal, K.S. (1988). The Mughal Harem. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. ISBN 81-85179-03-4. 
• Begley, W, The Symbolic Role of Calligraphy on Three Imperial Mosques of Shah Jahan, Kaladarsana, 1978, pp. 7 – 18
• Koch, Ebba (Hardback). The Complete Taj Mahal: And the Riverfront Gardens of Agra (First ed.). Thames & Hudson Ltd. pp. 288 pages. ISBN 0500342091. 
• Hunter, William., The Imperial Gazetteer of India.Turbner & Co.: London 1886
• A Handbook to Arga and the Taj by E.B. Havell

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shah Jahan

• Shah Jehan in Christian Art
• Shah Jahan's 353rd death anniversary observed at Taj Mahal at TwoCircles.net
• History of Islam in India at IndiaNest.com
• A Handbook to Agra and the Taj - Sikandra, Fatehpur-Sikri and the Neighbourhood by E. B. Havel (Project Gutenberg)
• Indian & Mughal History Discussions at History Forum
• 'The Man Of Marble' - Outlook India
• http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=55696

Jean Negulesco
Jean Negulesco (1986)
Born	(1900-02-26)26 February 1900 Craiova, Dolj, Romania
Died	18 July 1993(1993-07-18) (aged 93) Marbella, Andalusia, Spain
Spouse	Dusty Anderson (m. 1946–1993)

Jean Negulesco (born Jean Negulescu; 26 February 1900 – 18 July 1993) was a Romanian-born American film director and screenwriter.

Biography[link]

Born in Craiova, he attended Carol I High School. In 1915 he moved to Vienna, in 1919 to Bucharest, where he worked as a painter, before becoming a stage decorator in Paris. In 1927 he went to New York City for an exhibition of his paintings, and settled there.

In 1934 he entered the film industry, first as a sketch artist, then as an assistant producer, second unit director and in the late 1930s he became a director and screenwriter. He made a reputation at Warner Brothers by directing short subjects, particularly a series of band shorts featuring unusual camera angles and dramatic use of shadows and silhouettes.

Negulesco's first feature film as director was Singapore Woman (1941). In 1948 he was nominated for an Academy Award for Directing for Johnny Belinda. In 1955, he won the BAFTA Award for Best Film for How to Marry a Millionaire. His 1959 movie, The Best of Everything, was on Entertainment Weekly's Top 50 Cult Films of All-Time list.

From the late 1960s, he lived in Marbella, Spain where he died there at age 93, of heart failure.

During his Hollywood career and in his 1984 autobiography, Negulesco claimed to have been born on 29 February 1900; he was apparently motivated to make this statement because birthdays on Leap Year Day are comparatively rare. In fact, 1900 was not a leap year, so there was no 29 February in 1900. Negulesco's autobiography (in which this claim appears) is appropriately titled Things I Did and Things I Think I Did.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

• Jean Negulesco at the Internet Movie Database
• Jean Negulesco at Allmovie

Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
Shahanshah of Iran
Reign	1848–1896
Full Name	Nasser al-Din Shah
Born	(1831-07-16)16 July 1831
Birthplace	Tabriz, Persia
Died	1 May 1896(1896-05-01) (aged 64)
Place of death	Tehran, Persia
Predecessor	Mohammad Shah Qajar
Successor	Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar
Dynasty	Qajar Dynasty
Religious beliefs	Shia Islam

Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar ^[1] (July 16, 1831 – May 1, 1896) (Persian: ناصرالدین شاه قاجار‎ Nāṣiru d-Dīn Shāh Qājār) was the King of Iran from September 17, 1848 to May 1, 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Malek Jahan Khanom, Mahd-e Olia and the third longest reigning monarch king in Iranian history after Shapur II of the Sassanid Dynasty and Tahmasp I of the Safavid Dynasty. He had sovereign power for close to 50 years and was also the first Persian monarch to ever write and publish his diaries.

Biography[link]

He was in Tabriz when he heard of his father's death in 1848, and he ascended to the Peacock Throne with the help of Amir Kabir.

Though Naser al-Din had early reformist tendencies, he was dictatorial in his style of government. Unprovoked, he persecuted small numbers of Bábís and Bahá'ís, thinking they were heretics. Under his sanction, as many as two thousand Bábí's (often armed) including a few women and children, were brutally murdered. This persecution increased when Mirza RTeza Kermani, a follower of Jamal al-Din Afghani, attempted to assassinate him in 1852. It was mistakenly thought that Kermani was a Babi.^[2] This treatment continued under his Prime Minister Amir Kabir, who even ordered the execution of The Báb - regarded as a Manifestation of God to Bábí's and Bahá'ís, and to historians as the founder of the Bábí religion.

Unable to regain territory lost to Russia in the early 19th century, Nāṣer al-Dīn sought compensation by seizing Herāt, Afghanistan, in 1856. Great Britain regarded the move as a threat to British India and declared war on Iran, forcing the return of Herāt as well as Iranian recognition of the kingdom of Afghanistan.^[3]

He was the first modern Iranian monarch to visit Europe in 1873 and then again in 1878 (when he saw a Royal Navy Fleet Review), and finally in 1889 and was reportedly amazed with the technology he saw there. During his visit to the United Kingdom in 1873, Naser al-Din Shah was appointed by Queen Victoria a Knight of the Order of the Garter, the highest English order of chivalry. He was the first Iranian monarch to be so honoured. His travel diary of his 1873 trip has been published in several languages as Persian, German, French and Dutch.

During his visit, Naser al-Din met with British Jewish leaders, including Sir Moses Montefiore. At that time, the Persian king suggested that the Jews buy land and establish a state for the Jewish people.^[4]

In 1890 he met British Gerald Talbot and signed a contract with him giving him the ownership of Iranian Tobacco Industry, but he later was forced to cancel the contract after Ayatollah Mirza Hassan Shirazi issued a Fatwa that made farming, trading and consuming tobacco as Haram (forbidden). It even affected the Shah's personal life as his wives did not allow him to smoke.

This was not the end of his attempts to give advantages to Europe; he later gave the ownership of Iranian Customs incomes to Paul Julius Reuter.

Naser al-Din Shah in Golestan Palace.

Naser al-Din was effective in introducing several different western influences to Iran. He curbed the secular power of the clergy, introduced telegraph and postal services, built roads, opened the first school offering education along Western lines, and launched Iran's first newspaper. He was the first Iranian to be photographed and was a patron of photography who had himself photographed hundreds of times. His final prime minister was Ali Asghar Khan, who after the shah's assassination aided in securing the transfer of the throne to Mozaffar al-Din.

The Shah, on his European tour, in the Royal Albert Hall, London. Seated between the Princess of Wales and her sister, the Tsesarevna of Russia

In the later years of his rule, however, he steadfastly refused to deal with the growing pressures for reforms. He also granted a series of concessionary rights to foreigners in return for large payments that went into his own pockets. In 1872 popular pressure forced him to withdraw one concession involving permission to construct such complexes as railways and irrigation works throughout Iran. In 1890 he made an even greater error in granting a 50-year concession on the purchase, sale, and processing of all tobacco in the country, which led to a national boycott of tobacco and the withdrawal of the concession. This last incident is considered by many authorities to be the origin of modern Iranian nationalism.

Naser al-Din was assassinated by Mirza Reza Kermani, a follower of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, when he was visiting and praying in the shrine of Shah-Abdol-Azim. It is said that the revolver used to assassinate him was old and rusty, and had he worn a thicker overcoat, or been shot from a longer range, he would have survived the attempt on his life.^[5] Shortly before his death he is reported to have said "I will rule you differently if I survive!" Naser al-Din Shah's assassin was prosecuted by the Defence Minister Nazm ol Doleh.

He was buried in the Shah-Abdol-Azim Cemetery, in Rayy near Tehran, where he was assassinated. His one-piece marble tombstone, bearing his full effigy, is now kept in the Golestan Palace Museum in Tehran and is renowned as a masterpiece of Qajar-era sculpture.

Artistic and literary interests[link]

Naser al-Din Shah was very interested in painting and photography. He was a talented painter, and even though he had not been trained, was an expert in pen and ink drawing. Several of his pen and ink drawings survive. He was one of the first photographers in Persia and was a patron of that art. He established a photography studio in Golestan Palace.^[6]

Naser al-Din was also a poet. 200 couplets of his were recorded in the preface of Majma'ul Fusahā, a work by Reza-Qoli Khan Hedayat about poets of the Qajar period. He was interested in history and geography and had many books on these topics in his library. He also knew French and English, but was not fluent in either tongue.^[7]

Hekāyāt Pir Va Javān ("The Tale of the Old and the Young") was attributed to him by many; it was one of the first Persian stories written in modern European style.^[8]

Honours[link]

• Knight of the Order of the White Eagle of Russia-1838
• Grand Cross of the Legion d'Honneur of France-1855
• Grand Cross of the Order of St Stephen of Hungary-1859
• Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus of Italy-1862
• Knight of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation of Italy-1862
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion-1868
• Knight of the Order of St. Andrew of Russia-1873
• Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky of Russia-1873
• Knight of the Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st Class of Russia-1873
• Knight of the Order of St. Anna, 1st Class of Russia-1873
• Knight of the Order of the Garter (KG)-1873
• Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle of Prussia-1873
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle of Prussia-1873
• Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold of Belgium-1873
• Exalted Order of Honour of Turkey-1880

Offspring[link]

Sons

• Prince Soltan Mahmoud Mirza (1847–1849) Vali Ahad of Persia, 1849
• Prince Soltan Moin al-Din Mirza (1849 – 6 November 1856) Vali Ahad of Persia, 1849–56
• Prince Soltan Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan (5 January 1850–2 July 1918)
• Prince Mohammad Qassem Mirza (1850 – 29 June 1858) Vali Ahad of Persia, 1856-8
• Prince Soltan Hossein Mirza Jalal ed-Dowleh (1852–1868) ^[9]
• Prince Mozaffar al-Din Shah (25 March 1853–7 January 1907)
• Prince Kamran Mirza Nayeb es-Saltaneh (22 July 1856–1927)
• Prince Nosrat al-Din Mirza Salar es-Saltaneh (2 May 1882–1954)
• Prince Mohammad Reza Mirza Rokn es-Saltaneh (30 January 1884 – 8 July 1951)
• Prince Hussein Ali Mirza Yamin ed-Dowleh (1890–1952)
• Prince Ahmad Mirza Azd es-Saltaneh (1891–1939)

Daughters

• Princess Afsar ed-Dowleh
• Princess Fakhr-ol-Moluk (1847 - 9 April 1878)
• Princess Esmat ed-Dowleh (1855 – 3 September 1905)
• Princess Zi'a es-Saltaneh (1856 - 11 April 1898) ^[10]
• Princess Fakhr ed-Dowleh (1859–1891)
• Princess Forugh ed-Dowleh (1862–1916)
• Princess Eftekhar es-Saltaneh (1880–1941)
• Princess Farah es-Saltaneh (1882 - 17 April 1899)
• Princess Tadj es-Saltaneh (1883 – 25 January 1936)
• Princess Ezz es-Saltaneh (1888–1982)^[11]

Fictional depictions[link]

• Naser al-Din Shah is depicted in the movie Nassereddin Shah, Actor-e Cinema (Once Upon a Time, Cinema) 1992 written and directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf.
• He is the main character of the short story De koning 2002 and the novel De koning 2011 and by the Persian–Dutch writer Kader Abdolah.

Notes[link]

See also[link]

• Qajar dynasty
• Order of Aftab
• Qajar art
• Tobacco Protest
• Persian Cossack Brigade
• Samad Khan Momtaz os-Saltaneh
• Marjane Satrapi

References[link]

• Amanat, Abbas (2004). Pivot of the universe. Tehran: Karnameh. ISBN 964-431-049-7. 
• Clay, Catrine (2006). King, Kaiser, Tsar. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-6536-6. 
• Mo'ayeri, Dustali (1982). Some notes from private life of Nasser al-Din Shah. Tehran: Nashr-e Tarikh-e Iran. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nasser-ed-Din Shah

• Nasser-al-Din Shah's Portrait
• Nasseredin Shah and his 84 wives
• His visit to England(select from list)
• Statue of Nasseredin Shah in Golestan Palace
• Side view of Nasser-al-Din Shah's marble tombstone
• Coins, banknotes and medals of Qajar period
• Window on an Era: A Qajar Royal Album. Selected photographs from a private album of Nasser al-Din Shah, with an introduction by Kaveh Golestan, Kargah
• Mohammad-Reza Tahmasbpoor, History of Iranian Photography: Early Photography in Iran, Iranian Artists' site, Kargah
• History of Iranian Photography. Postcards in Qajar Period, photographs provided by Bahman Jalali, Iranian Artists' site, Kargah.
• History of Iranian Photography. Women as Photography Model: Qajar Period, photographs provided by Bahman Jalali, Iranian Artists' site, Kargah.
• Sir James William Redhouse, The Diary of H.M. the Shah of Persia during His Tour through Europe in A.D. 1873, A Verbatim Translation (John Murray, London, 1874), Internet Archive (Digitized by Robarts at University of Toronto).
• Sir Albert Houtum Schidler and Baron Louis de Norman, A Diary Kept by His Majesty the Shah of Persia during His Journey to Europe in 1878, in English (Richard Bentley & Son, London, 1879), Internet Archive (Digitized by Google).
• Photos of qajar kings

v t e Personalities involved in the Persian Constitutional Revolution Qajar dynasty Tobacco Protest Persian Constitutional Revolution Kings Naser al-Din Shah Qajar Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar Ahmad Shah Qajar Princes Kamran Mirza Nayeb es-Saltaneh Abdol Majid Mirza Mass'oud Mirza Zell-e Soltan Malek Mansur Mirza Shao es-Saltaneh Governmental Persons Mirza Nasrullah Khan Hassan Pirnia Abdol-Hossein Mirza Farmanfarma Ali Asghar Khan Mohammad Vali Khan Tonekaboni Mostowfi ol-Mamalek Ali-Qoli Khan Bakhtiari Sheikh Khaz'al Colonel Pessian Yeprem Khan Morteza Gholi Khan Hedayat Mehdi Qoli Hedayat Political Intellectuals Mirza Abdul'Rahim Talibov Tabrizi Mirza Malkam Khan Sayyid Hossein Ardabili Hassan Taqizadeh Ahmad Kasravi Haji-Mirza Hassan Roshdieh Hajj Sayyah Iranian Clerics Mohammad-Kazem Khorasani Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani Mirza Sayyed Mohammad Tabatabai Hassan Modarres Sheikh Fazlollah Noori Seqat-ol-Eslam Tabrizi Mohammad Khiabani Mirza Abutaleb Zanjani Iranian Writer and poets Iraj Mirza Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda Mirzadeh Eshghi Mirza Alakbar Sabir Aref Qazvini Mohammad-Taqi Bahar Mohammad Farrokhi Yazdi Mirza Fatali Akhundov Jahangir-Khan Sur-e-Esrafil Commons Saad ad-Daula Sattar Khan Bāqer Khān Haydar Khan e Amo-oghli Yeprem Khan Mirza Reza Kermani Jamshid Bahman Jamshidian Foreigners William Morgan Shuster Howard Baskerville Edward Granville Browne Vladimir Liakhov Women Zahra Khanom Tadj es-Saltaneh Bibi Khanoom Astarabadi Sediqeh Dowlatabadi

Prince Harry
Prince Harry at the Official Press Launch for Walking With The Wounded, 1 March 2010.
Full name
Henry Charles Albert David
House	House of Windsor
Father	Charles, Prince of Wales
Mother	Diana, Princess of Wales
Born	(1984-09-15) 15 September 1984 (age 27) St Mary's Hospital, London
Religion	Church of England

Prince Henry of Wales (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984), commonly known as Prince Harry,^[1] is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales, and fourth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. As such, he is third in the line of succession (behind his father and elder brother) to the thrones of sixteen independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms. Consequently, as heir to the British throne, specifically, he is also third in line, again behind his father and elder brother, to the position Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

After an education at various schools around the United Kingdom and spending parts of his gap year in Australia and Lesotho, Harry, unlike his elder brother, Prince William, eschewed a university education in favour of following in the footsteps of various royal men by enrolling in the military. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry Regiment—serving temporarily with his brother—and completed his training as a tank commander. He served for 77 days on the front line in the Afghan War,^[2] although he was pulled out following publication of the story in an Australian magazine.^[3]

Early life[link]

The Royal Family of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms
HM The Queen HRH The Duke of Edinburgh HRH The Prince of Wales HRH The Duchess of Cornwall HRH The Duke of Cambridge HRH The Duchess of Cambridge HRH Prince Harry of Wales HRH The Duke of York HRH Princess Beatrice of York HRH Princess Eugenie of York HRH The Earl of Wessex HRH The Countess of Wessex Viscount Severn Lady Louise Windsor HRH The Princess Royal HRH The Duke of Gloucester HRH The Duchess of Gloucester HRH The Duke of Kent HRH The Duchess of Kent HRH Prince Michael of Kent HRH Princess Michael of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra Sarah, Duchess of York
v t e

Harry was born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, England, on 15 September 1984. He was baptised at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, by then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. Harry's godparents were Prince Andrew (his paternal uncle); Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (his paternal cousin once removed); Lady Vestey; Mrs. William Bartholomew; Bryan Organ; and Gerald Ward.^[4]

Persistent suggestions, based on a similarity of hair colour, have been made that Harry's father is not Charles but James Hewitt, with whom Diana had an affair. However, red hair is known to be a Spencer family trait, and Hewitt stated to the press in 2002 that Harry had already been born by the time his affair with Diana began, a statement corroborated by Diana's police bodyguard.^[5][6]

There really is no possibility whatsoever that I am Harry's father. I can absolutely assure you that I am not…I can understand the interest but Harry was already walking by the time my relationship with Diana began. Admittedly the red hair is similar to mine and people say we look alike. I have never encouraged these comparisons and although I was with Diana for a long time I must state once and for all that I'm not Harry's father.

—James Hewitt^[7]

Diana wanted William and Harry to have a broader range of experiences than previous royal children and took both to venues that ranged from Disney World and McDonald's to AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless.^[8] Diana, Princess of Wales, who was by then divorced from the Prince of Wales, died in a car collision in 1997. Harry, his brother and their father were staying at Balmoral Castle at the time, and the Prince of Wales waited until early the following morning to tell his sons about their mother's death.^[9] At his mother's funeral, Harry accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather, and maternal uncle in walking behind the funeral cortège from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.^[10]

Education[link]

Like his father and elder brother, Harry was educated at public schools, starting at Jane Mynors' nursery school^[11] and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School, both in London. Following this, he attended Ludgrove School, and, after passing the entrance exams, was admitted to Eton College, where he studied geography, art history, and art at A-Level. The decision to place Harry in Eton went against the family tradition of sending royal children to Gordonstoun (Harry's grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins all attended); it did, however, make the Prince follow in the Spencer family footsteps, as both Diana's father and brother had attended Eton.^[8] In June 2003, he completed his education at Eton with two A-Levels^[12] having decided to drop history of art after AS level.^[13] He excelled in sports, particularly polo and rugby union.^{[citation needed]}.

After graduation, Harry took a gap year, during which he spent time in Australia, working (as his father had done in his youth) on a cattle station and participating in the Young England vs Young Australia Polo Test Match.^[14] He also travelled to Lesotho, where he worked with orphaned children and produced the documentary film The Forgotten Kingdom.^[8]

Royal duties and career[link]

Prince Harry began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age; his first overseas royal tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985.^[15] The earlier decision made by the Princess of Wales to take an infant William to Australia set the precedent for young royal children going on official visits.^[8] Harry then accompanied either both parents or his father on subsequent tours, though he did not begin solo official engagements until after his military training and active service. In August 1995, at the age of 10, Prince Harry attended the 50th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day at the Cenotaph in London. There he saluted the officers in the military parade, one of the most important ceremonies in the royal family agenda. In 2008, he began to undertake royal visits to schools and organisations in Wales.^[16]

Military career[link]

Prince Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 8 May 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company.^[17] Within a year, in April 2006, Harry completed his officer's training and was commissioned as a Cornet in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army.^[18] By April 2008, whereupon he reached two years' seniority, Harry was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

Officer Cadet Wales (standing to attention next to the horse) on parade at Sandhurst, 21 June 2005

The British Ministry of Defence and Clarence House made a joint announcement on 22 February 2007 that Prince Harry would be deployed with his regiment to the front line in Iraq, to serve as part of the 1st Mechanised Brigade of the 3rd Mechanised Division – a move supported by Harry, who had stated that he would leave the army if he was told to remain in safety while his regiment went to war;^[19] he said: "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country."^[20] Then head of the British army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, first said on 30 April 2007 that he had personally decided that the Prince would serve with his unit in Iraq,^[21] and Harry was scheduled for deployment in May or June 2007, to patrol the Maysan province.^[22] By 16 May, however, Dannatt announced that Prince Harry would not serve in Iraq;^[23] concerns included Harry being a high-value target (as several threats by various groups have already been made against him) and the dangers the soldiers around him would face should any attempt be made on the Prince's life or capture. Clarence House made public the Prince's disappointment with the decision, though he said he would abide by it.^[24] In May 2007, British soldiers in Iraq were reported to be wearing t-shirts bearing the statement "I'm Harry!"; a reference to the scene in the movie Spartacus in which the survivors of Spartacus's army, defeated by Roman legions, are offered leniency by Crassus if they will identify their leader. Every survivor declares: "I'm Spartacus!"^[25]

It was reported, in early June 2007, that Prince Harry had arrived in Canada to train, alongside soldiers of the Canadian Forces and British Army, at Canadian Forces base Suffield, near Medicine Hat, Alberta. It was said that this was in preparation for a tour of duty in Afghanistan, where Canadian and British forces were participating in the NATO led Afghan War;^[26] rumours that were confirmed in February the following year, when the British Ministry of Defence revealed that Harry had secretly been deployed as a Forward Air Controller to Helmand Province in the Asian country.^[27] The revelation came after the media – notably, the German newspaper Bild and Australian magazine New Idea^[28][29] – breached the blackout placed over the information by the Canadian and British authorities.^[30] It was later reported that, while in Afghanistan, Harry had called in United States Air Force air strikes,^[31] helped Gurkha troops repel an attack from Taliban insurgents,^[32] and performed patrol duty in hostile areas.^[33] His tour came 735 years after his ancestor, Edward I of England (then Prince Edward), had also been on military duty in the Middle East during the Ninth crusade,^[34] and also made Harry the first member of the Royal Family to have served in a war zone since his uncle, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, flew helicopters during the Falklands War. For his service, Prince Harry was decorated with the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan by his aunt, the Princess Royal, at the Combermere Barracks in May 2008.^[35]

In October 2008, the news was revealed that Prince Harry was to follow his brother, father, and uncle with the wish to fly military helicopters. After passing the initial aptitude test, he was to undertake a month-long course; depending on whether or not he passed that course he would proceed onto full flight training in early 2009.^[36] Harry had to pass his flying assessment at the Army Air Corps Base (AAC), Middle Wallop, the result of which determined if he would pass on to train as a pilot of either the Apache, Lynx, or Gazelle helicopter.^[37]

Prince Harry was presented with his flying brevet (wings) by his father, on 7 May 2010 at a ceremony at the Army Air Corps Base (AAC), Middle Wallop. Prince Harry had also let it be known that he intended to fly Apache attack helicopters if he was successful in passing the rigorous Apache training course; after which time it could be possible for him to see active military service once again on the frontline in one of the warzones.^[38] During the ceremony, he switched his Blues and Royals' Officer's Service Dress cap for that of the Army Air Corps' sky blue beret with a Blues and Royals badge.

Prince Harry greeting people, 28 April 2011

On 10 March 2011, it was revealed that Prince Harry had passed his Apache flying test and he was awarded his Apache Flying Badge on 14 April 2011. There is speculation that he shall return to Afghanistan once again before the withdrawal in 2015. On 16 April 2011 it was announced that Prince Harry had been promoted to the Army rank of Captain after having held the rank of Lieutenant since 2008.^[39]

In June 2011, Clarence House announced that Prince Harry on completion of his training conversion course to use Apache helicopters in the war arena would be available for deployment, including in current operations in Afghanistan in his role as an Apache helicopter pilot. The final decision will ultimately rest with the Ministry of Defence's senior commanders including principally the Chief of the Defence Staff in consultation with the wishes of Harry, his father the Prince of Wales and The Queen.^[40] In October, Prince Harry was transferred to a US military base in California to complete his helicopter gunship training. This final phase will include live-fire training as well as "environmental and judgment training" at naval and air force facilities in California and Arizona. The majority of those completing the two-month Apache training are deployed to the front lines in Afghanistan.^[41] In the same month it was reported that Prince Harry was said to be a natural pilot who was reportedly top of his class in the extensive training he had undertaken at the Naval Air Facility, El Centro, California.^[42] On November 2011, Prince Harry returned to England from military training in the United States. Next, he will head to Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk, southeast England, to complete his training to fly Apache helicopters.^[43]

Royal duties[link]

Royal Monogram

At the age of 21, Prince Harry was appointed as a Counsellor of State, and began his royal duties by first serving in that capacity when the Queen was abroad to attend the 2005 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta. The following year, Harry was in Lesotho to visit again Mants'ase Children's Home near Mohale's Hoek (which he first toured in 2004), and along with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho launched Sentebale: The Princes' Fund for Lesotho, a charity to aid children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. He has also granted his patronage to a number of other organisations, including WellChild, Dolen Cymru, and MapAction.^[44] To aid Sentebale, as well as the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and Centrepoint, Harry and his brother organised the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, on 1 July 2007.

Sports have also been a way that Harry has helped charities and other organisations, such as when he trained as a Rugby Development Officer for the Rugby Football Union in 2004 and then coached students in schools in order to encourage them to learn the sport. He has also participated in polo matches, like his brother and father, in order to raise money for charitable causes.^[14]

On 6 January 2009, Harry and his brother Prince William were granted their own royal household by their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. It has three main staff members, supported by a "small" team. Sir David Manning, the former British ambassador to Washington, will work as a part-time adviser to the princes. Previously, William and Harry's affairs had been handled by the office of their father at Clarence House in central London. The brothers' new household released a statement – complete with their own cyphers at the top – announcing that they have established their own office at nearby St. James's Palace to look after their public, military and charitable activities.^[45] Harry's cypher is similar to his brother's, but displays an H in a shade of blue similar to that used by his mother. In September, Prince William and Prince Harry set up The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to enable The Princes to take forward their charitable ambitions.The Foundation is the culmination of The Princes’ charitable lives so far.^[46][47][48]

Prince Harry (on left) with Prince William in 2009

In March 2012, Prince Harry led an official visit to Belize as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.^[49][50] He continued to the Bahamas and Jamaica, where the current Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller is considering severing ties between Jamaica and the constitutional monarchy, ^[51] During his visit to Jamaica, he stayed at a private five-bedroom, two-story villa with a private pool and beach access at Half Moon, A RockResort (a place that since the 1980s has been popular with the British Royal Family), located on Jamaica's North Coast near Montego Bay, and reportedly interacted well with the staff there, displaying his late mother's ability to relate to different groups of people.^[52]

Personal life and relationships[link]

Prince Harry enjoys playing many sporting activities, playing competitive polo, as well as skiing and motocross.^[14] Harry also earned a reputation in his youth for being rebellious, leading the tabloid press to label him as a "wild child".^[53] He was found at age 17 smoking cannabis and partaking in under-age drinking with his friends, would clash physically with paparazzi outside nightclubs,^[53] and was photographed at Highgrove House at a "Colonial and Native" themed costume party wearing a Nazi German Afrika Korps uniform with a swastika armband.^[54] He later issued a public statement apologising for his behaviour.^[55]

Prince Harry is a supporter of Arsenal Football Club.^[56]

In January 2009, the British tabloid News of the World revealed a video made by Harry three years previously, in which he referred to a Pakistani fellow officer cadet as "our little Paki friend" and later called a soldier wearing a cloth on his head a "raghead". These terms were described by David Cameron as "unacceptable",^[57] and by The Daily Telegraph as "racist",^[57] and a British Muslim youth organisation called the Prince a "thug",^[58] a statement that was later retracted.^[59] Clarence House immediately issued an apology from Harry, who stated that no malice was intended in his remarks.^[60] A former British MP and Royal Marine, Rod Richards, said that such nicknames were common amongst military comrades, stating "in the Armed Forces people often used to call me Taffy. Others were called Yankie, Oz or Kiwi or whatever. I consider Paki as an abbreviation for Pakistani. I don't think on this occasion it was intended to be offensive."^[61] It later emerged that Prince Harry had personally apologised to the soldier.^[62]

While Harry's personal relationships have not been followed as much as those of his brother, most media attention has been focused on his relationship with Chelsy Davy. In an interview conducted for his 21st birthday, Harry referred to Davy as his girlfriend, and the press reported at that time that the couple had been together for 18 months, contradicting earlier reports that they were no longer together.^[63] Harry and Davy were also seen together publicly at the Concert for Diana. Chelsy also accompanied Harry to the wedding of Harry's cousin, Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly in May 2008, where she was introduced to the Queen for the first time. But, in early 2009 it was reported in the media that the pair had parted ways.^[64] Later that year the pair were photographed together at a rugby match, seemingly going public again with their relationship.^[65] As of 2010, Harry and Davy are no longer together following Davy's departure from England. In 2011, Harry confirmed the rumors by proclaiming himself "100 per cent single". ^[66]

Titles, styles, honours and arms[link]

Titles and styles[link]

Royal styles of Prince Harry of Wales
Reference style	His Royal Highness
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness
Alternative style	Sir

• 15 September 1984 – present: His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales

The Prince's style and title in full is His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales. As a British prince, Harry holds no surname; however, as with the other male-line grandchildren of Elizabeth II, he uses the name of the area over which his father holds title; i.e., Wales. Past precedent is that such surnames are dropped from usage in adulthood, after which either title alone, or Mountbatten-Windsor is used when necessary.^[67] Prince Harry, however, continues to use Wales as his surname for military purposes and is known as Captain Harry Wales in such contexts.^[68] If his father succeeds to the throne he will be known as His Royal Highness The Prince Henry. Traditionally, male-line members of British royalty receive a dukedom a few hours before their marriage, the most recent being Prince William of Wales, who became Duke of Cambridge.

Military ranks[link]

• 13 April 2006 – 13 April 2008: Cornet (Second Lieutenant), The Blues and Royals^[18]
• 13 April 2008 – 16 April 2011: Lieutenant, The Blues and Royals^[69]
• Since 16 April 2011: Captain, The Blues and Royals attached to Army Air Corps^[39]

Honours[link]

See also List of honours of the British Royal Family by country

Appointments

• 6 March 2012 – : Honorary Fellow of the University of the West Indies^[70]

Medals

• 6 February 2002: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
• 5 May 2008: Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan^[35]
• 6 February 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal