But even before the steep fall from power, there were signs that depression and melancholy ran in the family, said Abbas Milani, author of the recent book The Shah and the head of Iranian studies at Stanford University.

Omid Memarian and Roja Heydarpour on the family heartbreak and what it means for Iran.

AM ET Published Jan.

AM ET The Shah of Iran and family on vacation in Switzerland, 1972.

Credit: Sipa,RETROSETBOUN MICHELIBRAHIM FAR There is nothing worse for a mother than the death of a child, except, perhaps, the death of two children who took their own lives.

That is what the former queen of Iran must endure now that her son, Ali-Reza Pahlavi, 44, was found dead in his home in Boston from a gunshot wound he inflicted on himself early Tuesday morning.

Gallery: Photos of the Iranian Royal Family It isnt the first time Farah Pahlavi has had to grieve a child who committed suicide.

Just 10 years ago, former Princess Leila Pahlavi, whose young daughter suffered from anorexia and depression, took a lethal cocktail of cocaine and barbiturates, and died in her sleep at 31.

And so it seems Irans royal family, once at the pinnacle of riches and power, has lost its members one by one, never recovering from losing the throne more than 30 years ago.

Like millions of young Iranians, Ali-Reza too was deeply disturbed by all the ills fallen upon his beloved homeland, as well as carrying the burden of losing a father and a sister in his young life, wrote Reza Pahlavi, the eldest son who is still politically active and hopes to return to Iran as its leader one day, on his website.

Although he struggled for years to overcome his sorrow, he finally succumbed.

On his mothers website, a simple page for Ali-Reza that clearly has not been updated lists his rsum, along with a smiling picture.

Post Graduate: Harvard University (ancient Iranian Studies Philology) it reads.

Followed by a list of his hobbiessky diving, scuba diving, reading, flying.

These children grew up seeing their parents deposed of their power and glory and made into a global spectacle when they were very young.

The childrens father, the former shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was dethroned in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that took root in an uprising that spanned all walks of life and political leanings before the Islamic government took power.

The family then moved to Egypt, Morocco, the Bahamas, and Mexico before settling in the United States.

Ali-Reza Pahlavi went to the best schools throughout his life.

He never married, but was at one point considered an eligible bachelor.

But a few years ago, the engagement fell apart, leaving him alone again.

His neighbors told The Daily Beast that he mostly kept to himself, though they would spot him in his Porsche, wearing jeans and a tattered blazer.

Unlike his brother, who is actively seeking to return to power, Ali-Reza never quite jumped into the spotlight.

Neither did Leila.

I have lived almost all my life abroad, but Ive stayed just as Iranian as if I had never left my country, Leila told Hola, a Spanish magazine, just months before her death.

They were, like all other royal families, accustomed to a life of wealth, luxury, and powerand they violently and abruptly lost that life.

I am sure it must have been quite traumatic, said Hamid Dabashi, a professor at Columbia University and an Iran expert.

These children grew up seeing their parents deposed of their power and glory and made into a global spectacle when they were very young Neither Europe nor North America, despite their family wealth, seems to have offered them a place of peace, solace, or above all usefulness.

Shah Of Iran Wives