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Learn how Queen Elizabeth II was deployed in a plot to overthrow Iran’s last democracy.
February 1953: the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Little does she know she is about to be deployed in a secret plot to topple Iran’s democratic leader in favor of an all-powerful Shah. Planned by MI6 and executed by the C.I.A., the coup that follows destroys relations between Iran and the West. Using newly declassified documents this film unravels this secret for the first time.
February 1953: the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Little does she know she is about to be deployed in a secret plot to topple Iran’s democratic leader in favor of an all-powerful Shah. Planned by MI6 and executed by the C.I.A., the coup that follows destroys relations between Iran and the West. Using newly declassified documents this film unravels this secret for the first time.
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Photos from The Queen and the Coup
About the Film
It’s February 1953 – the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign. Little does Her Majesty know she is about to be deployed in a U.S. plot to topple Iran’s last democratic leader in favor of an all-powerful Shah.



Planned by Britain’s MI6 and then executed by America’s C.I.A., the coup d’état which follows will destroy Iran’s last democracy, and relations between Iran and the West until the present day. Most shocking of all, the truth about Her Majesty’s role will be hidden from the Queen herself, and even the all-powerful Shah who will be used by Britain and American to replace Iran’s last democratic Prime Minister. The coup will lead to political upheaval all over the Middle East for decades to come, eventually resulting in the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which will end the reign of the Shah, and British and American influence in Iran, inspiring countless other Islamist revolutions around the world.
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