Marriages, Divorces and Children
The Aga Khan married his first wife, former British model Sarah ("Sally") Frances Croker-Poole, who assumed the name Begum Salimah Aga Khan, on October 22, 1969 (civil) and October 28, 1969 (religious), at his home (at that time) in Paris, France. The couple were married for 25 years, during which they had three children. Not many years into the marriage, the Aga Khan (potentially influenced by his father's history of marital infidelity) engaged in multiple extramarital affairs, greatly displeasing Begum Salimah. By 1984, the Aga Khan and Begum Salimah took to separate lives. However, their marriage did not officially end by divorce until eleven years later, in 1995. The Aga Khan agreed to pay £20 million in a divorce settlement, and Begum Salimah sold jewels she received as gifts, including the Begum Blue diamond, for £17.5 million. The Aga Khan and Begum Salimah had one daughter and two sons together:
- Princess Zahra Aga Khan (born September 18, 1970)
- Prince Rahim Aga Khan (born October 12, 1971)
- Prince Hussain Aga Khan (born April 10, 1974)
The Aga Khan married for the second time with Gabriele zu Leiningen, who assumed the name Begum Inaara Aga Khan, at his walled compound and chateau, Aiglemont, in Gouvieux, France, on May 30, 1998. However, a little over six years later – on October 8, 2004 – an announcement was made that the Aga Khan and Begum Inaara were to seek a divorce. Begum Inaara (like the Aga Khan's previous wife, Begum Salimah) claimed the Aga Khan had engaged in an extramarital affair while married. Specifically, Begum Inaara argued that her husband had been involved in an affair with an air hostess. In September 2011, a divorce settlement was reached and Begum Inaara was to receive a settlement amount of £50 million - overturning a lower court ruling of one-fifth of this amount, after the French court overseeing the settlement at the time found the Aga Khan exclusively at fault for adultery. It was revealed in the court that Begum Inaara had hired a private detective to track the Aga Khan's movements with the air hostess. An intra-marriage liaison of the Aga Khan with Beatrice von der Schulenburg, whom the Aga Khan has been close to for five years and whom it is expected the Aga Khan would marry following completion of the divorce with Begum Inaara, was also highlighted by the Begum's lawyers. However, the £50 million settlement was contested by the Aga Khan to France's highest court, shortly after being announced. As a result, divorce proceedings are still ongoing (potentially taking several years to resolve), but, the Aga Khan is said to remain legally married to Begum Inaara in the meantime. By Begum Inaara, the Aga Khan has a son:
- Prince Aly Muhammad Aga Khan (born March 7, 2000)
Read more about this topic: Aga Khan IV
Famous quotes containing the words divorces and/or children:
“Many divorces are not really the result of irreparable injury but involve, instead, a desire on the part of the man or woman to shatter the setup, start out from scratch alone, and make life work for them all over again. They want the risk of disaster, want to touch bottom, see where bottom is, and, coming up, to breathe the air with relief and relish again.”
—Edward Hoagland (b. 1932)
“To achieve the larger goal of teaching her children consideration of others, a mother can tolerate some frustration of her own wishes, she can delay having what she wants, she can be flexible enough to compromise. And this is exactly what her child must also learn: that it is possible to survive frustration, it is possible to wait for what he wants, it is possible to compromise without capitulating.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)