Vintage Glamour: The Lady of Roses: Begum Aga Khan III

Yvette Blanche Labrousse was born in 1906 in Le Cannet, France, to a tramway driver and town council member father, and a seamstress mother. Nothing in her humble beginnings foreshadowed the wonderful fate that lay ahead of her. She was crowned Miss Lyon in 1929, at the age of twenty-four, and Miss France a year afterward. She traveled to numerous locations throughout the world as a beauty queen and a representative of France. She was particularly fascinated with Egypt, and in the late 1930s, she relocated to Cairo and converted to Islamic faith.

Yvette Labrousse in 1946

In Egypt, Yvette met Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, and the two married in Switzerland on October 9, 1944. Om Habibeh was the new Begum's name, after one of the Prophet Muhammad's wives. Her husband gave her the nickname "Yaky," which was made out of the initials of "Yvette," "Aga," and "Khan." The Begum designed their villa at Le Cannet near Cannes and it was named "Yakymour", combining her nickname "Yaky" and "Amour."

Her Highness the Begum used to gather the members of the Cannes film festival jury at this house surrounded by parkland. She continued to reside at Yakimour after her husband's death, however, she regularly spent three months a year in the mansion in Aswan, where her husband's grave is located.

She traveled much as a widow, both for charity and pleasure. She was a familiar sight at Ascot, where she constantly drew attention. She was a true style icon in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing on the covers of major publications on numerous occasions. Her people, as well as her own husband, adored her because of her compassion for the poor, children, women, and the elderly.

Picture dated from the 1920s of Yvette

Aga Khan III and his wife The Begum, circa 1940

Aga Khan III, the Begum, Aly Khan and his wife actress Rita Hayworth, January 1949

Portrait of the Begum, smiling, posing in front of a fireplace with her many jewels and wearing a diadem of the jewels to which she attaches the most valuable: a Hindu enamel necklace adorned with diamonds and rubies

She founded a home for the elderly in her hometown of Cannes. She provided a significant contribution to the community in her latter years, allowing it to renovate its school property. She was also influential in the building of the Jardin des Oliviers, for which the municipality erected a bronze statue in her honor. In 1997, she made her last public appearance at the launching of this garden.

During her tenure in Egypt, Begum Om Habibeh was known as the 'Red Rose' for her daily custom of placing a red rose on the grave of her husband. She planned for the ceremony to be performed by the gardener while she was away. Her relationship with Aga Khan III is regarded as a great love story and has been dubbed a legendary and fairy-tale romance.

Her unwavering devotion, on the other hand, was undeniable. "All I have left to pray for now is that Allah would take me to his side," she remarked shortly before her death. She passed away on July 1, 2000, in her villa, and was buried alongside her husband in a mausoleum on their Nour-es-salam estate near the Nile in Aswan, Egypt.