Mohammad Hassan Mirza

Who was Mohammad Hassan Mirza?

Mohammad Hassan Mirza, was the brother of Ahmed Shah Qajar of Iran, and former Crown Prince of the Qajar dynasty. Soon after Reza Shah deposed the Qajar dynasty and made himself Shah of Iran in 1925, Prince Mohammad Hassan and his family were sent into permanent exile to England. In 1930, he declared himself the rightful heir to the crown as pretender to the throne. He died on 7 January 1943 in Maidenhead, England and was buried in Kerbala, Iraq.

His son, Hamid Mirza Qajar continued as pretender to the throne and was favoured by the British as a potential successor to Reza Shah Pahlavi after the latter was deposed during World War II. His efforts were hindered by the fact that he didn't speak Persian and his mother tongue was English.