News Desk |
Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein, the sixth wife of Dubai ruler Sheikh Rashid Al-Makhtoum, reportedly fled to Germany with her two children. The Princess after fleeing to Germany is now hiding in London and fears for her life. The Emirati Royal Couple is now preparing for a legal battle for the custody of their two children.
Princess Haya, 45, married Sheikh Rashid, 69, in 2004 and became the ‘junior’ wife of the Sheikh Rashid al-Makhtoum. Princess Haya is the third woman to flee the UAE palace. She has filed for divorce and seeks asylum in the UK.
Princess Haya, the daughter of King of Jordan and the half-sister of current Jordanian ruler, reportedly fled the Arab Kingdom with £31m to commence a new life. She has reportedly gone into hiding and moved into an £85 million house near Kensington Palace, the luxurious residence she bought from Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal in 2017.
Dubai ruler Sheikh Rashid al-Makhtoum, known all over the Arab for his poems, expressed his resentment in fierce poetry posted on his social media account.
The Dubai ruler has now initiated a legal battle against Princess Haya, to get the custody of their two children Zayed, 7, and daughter Al-Jalila, 11, in the UK Family Courts. The legal battle is due to begin later this month. The Dubai ruler can obtain custody of the children if he proves the children have been abducted.
Princess Haya reportedly fled to Germany with the help of a German diplomat; the German authorities refused to return Princess Haya to Dubai ruler twice upon his request, which deteriorated the relations between the two states.
It is also rumored that the UK has also lobbied in the case. The requests have been made to the UK through private Dubai channels seeking Princess Haya’s return to UAE but the UK Foreign Office has refused to intervene in the matter, declaring it a personal dispute.
Read more: Daughter of Dubai’s ruler missing since escape attempt
Princess Haya was educated at private schools in the UK and studied philosophy, politics, and economics at Oxford University. She has served on the International Olympic Committee and has been a Goodwill Ambassador of UN’s World Food Programme. Her social media accounts, which were filled with pictures of her charitable work, are inactive since February; she has not been seen in the public, since May 20.
Dubai ruler Sheikh Rashid al-Makhtoum, known all over the Arab for his poems, expressed his resentment in fierce poetry posted on his social media account. The poem titled, “You Lived and You Died,” has a strong message for the ruler’s estranged wife.
“You betrayer, you betrayed the most precious trust, and your game has been revealed.” “Your days of lying are over and it doesn’t matter what we were and what you are,” expressed the heartbroken Dubai ruler.
Prince Rashid Al-Makhtoum, known for his obsession with horses and the owner of, ‘Godolphin’, the world’s biggest horse breeding and racing conglomerate, wrote, “You let the reins on your horse go free.”
Read more: Runaway Dubai princess ‘brought back’ to emirate
The case of Princess Haya’s runaway is similar to Sheikh Latifa’s, the daughter of Prince Rashid Al-Makhtoum who twice attempted to flee the Kingdom, but was intercepted, brought back, and imprisoned in UAE.
Princess Haya, along with former Irish president Mary Robinson, had defended the UAE on the incident. Since then, it is alleged, Princess Haya has learned new facts about the case and consequently came under increasing hostility and pressure from members of her husband’s extended family until she no longer felt safe.