Shahbanu

{{Short description|Persian royal title}}

{{italic title}}

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File:Imperial Arms of the Shahbanou of Iran.svg

File:Portrait of Her Imperial Majesty, Shahbanu Farah.jpg, describing her as Shahbanu Farah]]

Shahbanu ({{langx|fa|شهبانو|Šahbānū}}, {{lit|lady king}}) was a title for empress regnant or empress consort in Persian and other Iranian languages. The title was specifically used by Farah Pahlavi, the wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran (Persia).{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nzUbVqTIUo0C&dq=farah+diba+shahbanu&pg=PA104|title=Women and Politics in Iran: Veiling, Unveiling, and Reveiling|last=Sedghi|first=Hamideh|date=2007-07-09|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139463720|language=en}}

During Sassanid times, the principal queen was titled banbishnan banbishn ("Queen of Queens") analogous to the emperor's title shahanshah (lit. "King of Kings") to distinguish her from the other queens in the royal household.

Farah Pahlavi sometimes continues to be referred to as Shahbanu, as is customarily done internationally for titleholders associated with abolished monarchies, but the title is no longer valid in Iran. According to the Persian Constitution of 1906, Yasmine Pahlavi would currently hold this title.