What caused the loudest divorce of the last 10 years: escaped Princess Haya and Sheikh Mohammed

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

It seems that everything in the life of the princess and the sheikh was completely cloudless. At first glance, the younger wife was completely happy with her husband, she invariably thanked fate for meeting this man and showed complete satisfaction with life. But two years ago, she simply fled, taking $ 40 million with her. And then she initiated the divorce proceedings, which the media dubbed the loudest since the days of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

How it all began

The wedding of Princess Haya, daughter of King Hussein of Jordan, and Sheikh Mohammed, Emir of Dubai, held in 2004, caused some surprise among Haya's entourage. Friends of the princess were sure that she was so independent and freedom-loving that she would choose some European aristocrat or businessman as her spouse.

But, according to the testimony of a friend of the princess, a meeting in Spain with Sheikh Mohammed turned her life upside down. The princess fell in love, got married and for 15 years of marriage she never gave a reason to doubt her devotion to her husband. She gave birth to two children, daughter Jalila and son Zayed, constantly appeared with her husband at events, was actively involved in charity work and invariably spoke in her interviews about the human qualities of her husband, worthy of all respect.

But in April 2019, she fled to Germany, taking her children and $ 40 million with her, and then moved to the UK, where she initiated the divorce proceedings.

Happiness in a golden cage

It is unlikely that in 2004, when Princess Haya got married, she imagined in detail what her life in the UAE would be like. Or she thought that everything would be different with her, and she would not suffer the fate of Sheikh Mohammed's other wives or his adult daughters.

It should be understood that the order in the sheikh's family in the United Arab Emirates is very different from the lifestyle of the royal family in Jordan, where the princess grew up and was brought up. If in Jordan the monarch's family is very similar to the British one, where princes and princesses are constantly in sight, lead a fairly public life, do charity work and take care of various organizations, then in the UAE the situation is different. Sheikh's wives lead a very closed life, usually they do not appear in public, give birth and raise children.

In addition, the current law on male guardianship, in fact, deprives a woman of independence in the Emirates. A woman can work only with the permission of her spouse, and a wife can deny him intimacy only on legal grounds. If a citizen of the Emirates decides to leave her husband, then she is obliged to leave his children.

In 2001, one of the eldest daughters of Sheikh Shams fled (in total, he has 30 children from six wives). The fugitive was found and returned to Dubai. There is no information about her further fate, and no one else saw the girl herself, even in photographs.

Another daughter of Sheikh Latifa decided to repeat the experience of her older sister. She had been preparing her escape for several years, but still it ended in failure. Latifa was caught off the coast of India and returned to the UAE. Due to the video message from Latifa spreading on the network, Sheikh Mohammed had some minor problems. The world community and the press demanded to show them Latifa alive.

Princess Haya was actively involved in organizing Latifa's meeting with human rights activist and her friend Mary Robinson, who once became the first woman to hold the presidency of Ireland. But this meeting turned out to be so similar to a theatrical performance that she could not really convince anyone that Latifa had no problems. However, Mary Robinson herself said that the girl, whose fate people around the world were concerned about, was mentally not entirely healthy, and the royal family fully provided her with the necessary medical care and proper care.

After Mary Robinson was attacked in the West with accusations of bias, Princess Haya defended her friend. She had an impeccable reputation, and therefore her words that everything Mary told is the true truth, it seems, was believed. But only a few months later, Princess Haya fled. Allegedly, disagreements in the family arose even earlier, and the sheikh demanded that the younger wife stop communicating with Latifa, but she did not obey her husband.

On the loose

How Haye managed to leave Dubai remains a mystery. It turns out that the princess, despite a falling out with her husband, continued to enjoy the trust of her husband and even his planes. And she was able to take the children with her and a very decent amount. Officially, it is believed that the reason for the flight of Khaya was her solidarity with the daughters of Sheikh Shamsa and Latifa. Unofficially, she had an affair with one of the guards.

But there is another one. In the opinion of those close to the princess herself, least of all she wanted to be locked within the walls of the palace, since the sheikh's sons had more than once expressed their disapproval of the international activity of their father's younger wife. It should be understood that Sheikh Mohammed will soon turn 72 years old, and his sons are gaining more and more influence every day.

The Sheikh, after Khaya ended up in the UK, demanded that the children be returned to him by filing a suit. Haya immediately asked for protection from the British authorities, accusing her husband of domestic violence and asking to prevent a possible forced marriage for children. In early March 2020, a London court named Sheikh Mohammed the organizer of the kidnapping of his own daughters.

The trial, most likely, will last more than one day, and maybe even a year. In the meantime, Princess Haya lives in her own mansion, acquired from an Indian tycoon, enjoys parliamentary immunity as an emissary of the Jordanian embassy, but at the same time tries to be always on the alert, remembering that Shamsa was found and kidnapped from Cambridge, where she took refuge.

Few people think about the fact that monarchs often perceive their origin not as a gift of fate, but as a punishment. After all titles give not only privileges, but they also reward them with responsibilities that, alas, not everyone is ready to fulfill. In addition, monarchs also cry, because status cannot protect them from adversity and tragedy.