Some royals have ended up in the United States, either by choice or after being exiled from their country. Some have never left.
Here are some female royals who are buried in the United States.1
Princess Shams Pahlavi
Princess Shams was born on 28 October 1917 as the eldest daughter of Reza Shah Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, from his second marriage to Tadj ol-Molouk. She married Fereydoun Djam in 1937, but the marriage was unhappy, and they divorced in 1944. She remarried to Mehrdad Pahlbod in 1945, and she converted to Catholicism around this time. She and her husband had three children together and briefly lived in the United States. She left Iran after the Islamic Revolution and settled in Santa Barbara in California, United States, with her family in 1984. Princess Shams died on 29 February 1996.
She was buried at the Santa Barbara Cemetery. Her husband outlived her, dying in 2018, and he was buried at the same cemetery.
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte
Elizabeth was born in Baltimore on 6 February 1785 as the daughter of William Patterson and Dorcas Spear Patterson. In 18303, she married Jérôme Bonaparte, the youngest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon demanded that his brother have the marriage annulled, and when they travelled to Europe to attend Napoleon’s coronation, Elizabeth was not allowed to go ashore. By then, she was pregnant. She gave birth to their son in London, and even though Jérôme had promised not to cave in to his brother’s demands, the marriage was annulled in 1806. She returned to Baltimore with her son. She returned to Europe after Napoleon’s defeat and enrolled her son in school. She eventually returned to Baltimore. She died on 4 April 1879 at the age of 94.
She was buried at the Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore.
Susan May Williams
Susan was born on 2 April 1812 as the daughter of Benjamin Williams and Sarah Copeland. In 1829, she married Jérôme Napoléon Bonaparte, the son of Elizabeth Patterson and Jérôme Bonaparte, and they had two sons together. The wedding happened without Elizabeth’s knowledge, and she never fully reconciled with her new daughter-in-law. Susan died on 15 September 1881 at the age of 69.
She was buried at the Loudon Park Cemetery in Baltimore alongside her husband.
Other Bonaparte burials at Loudon Park Cemetery include her daughters-in-law, Caroline Le Roy Appleton and Ellen Channing Day.
Princess Xenia Georgievna of Russia
Princess Xenia was born on 22 August 1903 as the younger daughter of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark. She left Russia with her sister in 1914 to spend the war years in England. In 1919, her father was executed by the Bolsheviks. On 9 October 1921, she married William Bateman Leeds Jr., who was the son of Princess Anastasia of Greece and Denmark. They settled in New York and had a daughter named Nancy together. They were divorced in 1930. Princess Xenia remarried in 1946 to Herman Jud. She died on 17 September 1965 at the age of 62.
She was buried at the Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church Cemetery, Glen Cove, New York.
Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia
Princess Nina was born on 20 June 1901 as the elder daughter of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia and Princess Maria of Greece and Denmark. She left Russia with her sister, Princess Xenia, in 1914. In 1922, she married Prince Paul Aleksandrovich Chavchavadze in London. They had one son together in 1924, Prince David. Three years later, the family moved to New York. Princess Nina worked as an artist, while her husband was an author. In 1937, they relocated to Massachusetts. She died on 27 February 1974 at the age of 72.
She was buried at the Snow Cemetery in Truro, Massachusetts.
Lee Radziwill
Lee was born in New York on 3 March 1933 as the younger daughter of John Vernou Bouvier III and Janet Norton Lee. Her elder sister was First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. By her second marriage to Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł, she had two children: Anthony (born 1959, died 1999) and Anna Christina (born 1960). They divorced in 1974, and Lee would remarry for a third time 14 years later. This marriage ended in divorce as well, and Lee returned to using the name Radziwill. She died on 15 February 2019 at the age of 85.
Half of her ashes were buried in the family plot at the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery, East Hampton, New York. The other half was scattered off the Amalfi Coast.
Rita Hayworth
Rita was born in New York on 17 October 1918 as the daughter of Eduardo Cansino and Volga Hayworth. She married a total of five times, and she became a princess by her third marriage to Prince Aly Khan. She had a daughter from her second marriage and another daughter from her third marriage. She died on 14 May 1987 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 68.
Rita was buried at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Fascinated reading. Thank you for this research. Hope thi becomes a book.