Why the romance of Pakistani prince Ali Khan and the goddess of Hollywood Rita Hayworth did not become a fairy tale

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Rita Hayworth became a legend during her lifetime. Millions of viewers worshiped her beauty, charm and talent, and men were ready for anything to get at least the glance of this brilliant lady. The actress enjoyed incredible success and had a reputation for being a true heartbreaker. Her romance with Prince Ali Khan made a lot of noise in the 1940s, both in the East and in the West. And yet this oriental tale, it seems, was simply doomed to an unhappy ending.

Prince and actress

In some ways they were similar to each other, actress Rita Hayworth and Prince Ali Khan. They were prominent representatives of their generation, the son of an Islamic leader and a legendary actress. Ali Khan, like his entire extended family, led a completely Western lifestyle. He was accustomed to traveling and dining in the best restaurants in the world, took part in races with pleasure, was fond of hunting wild animals and was a noble seducer.

When he saw a beautiful actress on the screen, he immediately promised himself to marry her. Naturally, he was not going to notice obstacles on the way to the goal, and least of all he was interested in the marital status of the woman he liked. He always knew how, if not to achieve, then to buy what he wanted.

Rita Hayworth, by the time of her first meeting with the prince, managed to star in many films, win the unofficial title of the goddess of Hollywood and break many men's hearts. In 1948, she was already considered a living legend and was in a state of divorce from her second husband, director Orson Welles.

Ali Khan had no great difficulty figuring out the plans of the unknown actress for the near future. And he went to the French Riviera, where Rita was to come to rest. It was already a matter of technique to be next to her at an event. By the way, Ali Khan himself was not at all free at that moment. But he also did not plan to take into account this fact or the feelings of his second wife Joan Guinness. His goal was Rita, and Ali Khan was going to use all his charm in order to gain the location of the famous beauty.

However, special efforts were not required from him. Rita Hayworth immediately felt sympathy for her new acquaintance and from the very first meeting she enjoyed spending days and nights with him. When the prince flew to Ireland for a short time, a messenger in his absence brought Rita huge bouquets of flowers every day, and once even arranged a “chance” meeting between Rita and a fortune-teller who promised the actress the brightest romance in her life.

Ali Khan was in love and was determined to make Rita his lawful wife. He even introduced the actress to his influential friends, but in their company Rita for some reason did not come to the court. They even refused to communicate with her, demonstratively switching at her approach to French, which she did not know. But during a trip to Rita Hayworth's relatives in Madrid, Ali Khan was completely fascinated by how natural and beautiful the actress is in a familiar society. The dance of the actress with her own grandfather completely discouraged him.

A desperate situation

After this trip, the prince made the actress a marriage proposal, but received a decisive refusal, after which Rita immediately flew to the United States, returning to her husband's house, where she lived with her daughter Rebecca. But Ali Khan did not intend to abandon his plans. He also went to America and even rented a house directly opposite where Rita lived.

The lovers' meetings continued, and soon almost everyone knew about their connection. The surrounding people openly condemned this relationship, and even frankly racist statements were made against Ali Khan. The prince's father Sultan Aga Khan III demanded that his son give up his relationship with the actress, but it turned out that by that time Rita was already expecting a child from the prince. The Sultan had no choice but to give his consent to the marriage.

This time, the actress did not refuse Ali Khan and agreed to become his wife. At that time, a woman giving birth to a child without a husband was not treated very well and, most likely, Rita's decision was influenced by the fear of being rejected by society. Before the wedding, scheduled for May 29, 1949, the prince had time to divorce his second wife.

The bride was frightened by the prospect of becoming the wife of a famous womanizer, and Rita even decided to take a desperate step, inviting her ex-husband to marry her a second time. However, Orson Welles' plans did not include marrying a woman pregnant with another. In fact, she had only one way out: to become the wife of Ali Khan. The wedding was rich and noisy.

Doomed to be apart

At the end of December 1949, Rita Hayworth gave birth to a daughter, Yasmin, but the actress's joy from motherhood was overshadowed by the increasing pressure from new relatives. The husband insisted on raising the baby in Muslim traditions, and his whole family categorically demanded that Rita give up her acting career and join Islam.

Rita was not ready for such a development of events, and besides, her husband was not at all going to become an exemplary family man. He continued to lead his usual way of life, often left his wife alone, while he himself indulged in pleasures, including in the company of other women.

In 1952, Rita Hayworth, completely disappointed in her marriage and tired of the endless rumors about her husband's novels, resolutely packed her things and announced her return to Hollywood, where she was going to continue her career. Ali Khan was just furious. He was not used to defiance on the part of women. True, he did not know that Rita Hayworth was also not timid, she did not react in any way to his threats. The prince tried to steal his daughter, then offered his wife some fabulous sums for raising his daughter in Muslim traditions and annual vacations in his homeland in Pakistan. But Rita didn’t agree to anything. A year later, their divorce proceedings were completed and Ali Khan and Rita Hayworth never saw each other again.

Ali Khan continued to live as he used to, he was going to get married several times, but each time something interfered with his new marriage. In 1960, he crashed in a car accident. Rita was not bored alone for long. She married twice more, and later she had a long affair with actor Glenn Ford. In 1987, Rita Hayworth, who had suffered in recent years from Alzheimer's disease, passed away.

Rita Hayworth, a dazzling dancer, daughter of a Spanish émigré, was called diamond and goddess of Hollywood. Men all over the world went crazy for her, she won the heart of the impregnable bachelor director Orson Welles, and then became the princess of Pakistan.