Princess Leila Pahlavi, the youngest child of the late Shah of Iran, died in a London hotel after apparently taking an overdose, reported the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday.
The princess, who lived in the United States, was found dead by staff at the Leonard Hotel on Sunday evening. She was 31.
Her brother, Reza Pahlavi, the elder son of the Shah and heir to the Peacock Throne, refused to confirm the cause of death when contacted by the paper.
In a statement released from his office in Falls Church, Virginia, he said, "It brings me enormous pain and deep sorrow to announce the tragic passing away of my beloved sister Princess Leila Pahlavi after a lengthy illness.''
The paper added that police were investigating the possibility that she took an overdose of sleeping pills, but were awaiting the results of toxicology tests and a post-mortem examination.
Princess Leila, who was unmarried, was the youngest of the Shah's five children, and the fourth child of his third wife, Queen Farah.
Born in Tehran in 1970, she appeared destined for a life of opulence and privilege. But nine years later, she was forced to flee Iran with her family when her father was deposed in the Islamic revolution.
Princess Leila spent a good deal of the year staying at the Leonard Hotel, a haven for wealthy travelers in central London. She paid $935 a night for her favorite suite, said the Telegraph.
Her father, who ruled Iran from 1941 to 1979, died of cancer in Egypt in 1980 – Albawaba.com
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