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Biography & Personal Stories
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The £550m Divorce That Exposed a Ruler's Dark Secrets: Kidnapping, Spying, and a Princess's Escape
A UK court awarded Princess Haya £550m in her divorce from Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed. The ruling exposed his role in kidnapping two of his daughters, hacking his ex-wife's phone with Pegasus spyware, and posing a grave and direct threat to her safety, revealing a dark royal reality.
When the UK High Court awarded Princess Haya bint Hussein a divorce settlement valued at circa £550 million from her ex-husband, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, it wasn't just the record-breaking sum that made headlines. It was the terrifying story unveiled during the proceedings—a story of fear, abduction, and sophisticated state-level surveillance directed at a mother and her children.
A Princess's Flight from Fear
The case began not as a financial dispute, but as a desperate plea for safety. In 2019, Princess Haya, the sixth and youngest wife of Sheikh Mohammed, fled Dubai with her two young children and sought refuge in London. She was, in her own words, "terrified" of her husband. The court proceedings that followed would slowly and methodically reveal why her fear was justified.
The legal battle was not just about the dissolution of a marriage; it was about protecting her children from the fate that had befallen their half-sisters and securing her own life against a man with the immense resources of a nation-state at his disposal.
The Court's Damning Findings
Over months of hearings, the High Court substantiated claims that painted a chilling portrait of Sheikh Mohammed's conduct. The judge found that the Sheikh had orchestrated a campaign of intimidation against Princess Haya, which included a series of credible and severe threats.
The Abduction of Two Daughters
Central to Princess Haya's fear were the well-documented cases of two of Sheikh Mohammed's other daughters, Sheikha Shamsa and Sheikha Latifa. The court found, on the balance of probabilities, that the Sheikh was responsible for:
- The abduction of Sheikha Shamsa from the streets of Cambridge, UK, in 2000 after she had fled the family's estate. She has not been seen freely in public since.
- The forcible return of Sheikha Latifa on two separate occasions when she tried to escape Dubai, first in 2002 and again in 2018 when she was captured by commandos from a boat off the coast of India.
These findings established a clear and ruthless pattern of behavior, lending significant weight to the threat Princess Haya felt.
State-Sanctioned Spying
Perhaps the most shocking revelation was the Sheikh's use of the infamous Pegasus spyware to hack the phones of Princess Haya and her legal team, including her high-profile lawyer, Baroness Shackleton. The NSO Group's spyware, which can access a phone's entire contents, was used to monitor their every move and communication. This act was described by the court as a "total abuse of trust and indeed an abuse of power."
A Settlement Built on Security
The final financial award reflects the severity of the threat. While the sums for lifestyle and child maintenance are vast, the largest component was dedicated to security. The court awarded a lump sum of £251.5 million to Princess Haya, partly to cover the extensive lifetime security costs needed to protect her and her children from her ex-husband. The judge, Mr Justice Moor, was explicit in his reasoning.
I am absolutely clear that in such circumstances, and against the background of the findings in the fact-finding judgment, the main threat they face is from the Sheikh himself, not from outside sources. There will remain a clear and ever-present risk to Haya for the remainder of her life, whether it be from the Sheikh or just from the normal terrorist and other threats.
The settlement also included annual payments of £5.6 million for each child, secured by a £290 million bank guarantee. This unprecedented security budget was deemed necessary because, as the judge concluded, Sheikh Mohammed had acted in a manner that was "coercive and controlling" to an "exorbitant degree."
The case serves as a stark reminder that behind the glittering facade of immense wealth and power can lie a dark reality of control and coercion. The UK court's judgment not only provided for Princess Haya's financial future but, more importantly, publicly validated the immense threat she faced and put the actions of a powerful world leader under an unforgiving legal spotlight.