Princess Haya news: The special relationship Dubai Princess has with the Queen.
PRINCESS HAYA Bint Al Hussein is currently in London having fled Dubai.
The Jordanian Princess is the sixth wife of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum
and this week launched a legal battle over their children.
This is the very special connection Princess Haya shares with the Queen.
Princess Haya, 45, is the most "junior" of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum's six wives.
The princess is the half-sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan and her marriage to Sheikh Mohammed
in 2004 further cemented her status within the UAE elite.
Princess Haya is a regular in interbnational royal circles and shares this very special
relationship with Queen Elizabeth II.
Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum is the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai.
While the UAE royals may seem worlds apart from the British monarch, they are united
by a shared passion.
Before she married Sheikh Mohammed, Princess Haya was a celebrated equestrian.
The princess rode for Jordan in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and is two-time president of the
international governing body of equestrian sports (FEI).
Like Queen Elizabeth II, both Sheikh Mohammed and Princess Haya own racehorses.
Sheikh Mohammed founded the family-owned Godolphin racing stable as well as thoroughbred breeding
operation, Darley.
Princess Haya has some racehorses of her own, independent to the Godolphin stud - they race
under her name HRH Princess Haya Of Jordan.
In an interview about horses on her official website Princess Haya says: “My horses were
originally part of my late father’s private stables of riding horses, and when I began
to compete internationally in 1994 he created ‘Team Harmony’, a string of International
Jumping Horses - mainly Holsteins, some Dutch Warmbloods, and two Thoroughbreds - for me
to compete with in Europe.
“Since the sad passing away of my father, the original horses are now personally owned,
and the newer ones I have registered in the names of family members and people I love
so I can share my sport with them.”
Their passion for horse racing means both Princess Haya and Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum
have met the Queen many times over the years.
They are regulars at Royal Ascot and Princess Haya attended the Royal Windsor Horse Show
with Queen in 2009.
On the Queen’s 91st birthday Princess Haya paid a touching tribute to the British monarch.
The Princess shared a photo of the Queen on Instagram with a message that said Her Majesty
was “a force for hope” and “the personification of goodness”.
Princess Haya’s caption read: “Today we celebrate a woman who is, without doubt, one
of the greatest Queens that has ever lived.
“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the world’s longest-reigning monarch, but it is not the
duration of her reign that sets Her Majesty far ahead and apart from others, it is the
fact that Her Majesty has reigned through times of both incredible change and turbulence,
never failing to meet every challenge and adversity with unwavering energy and complete
selflessness.
“She has used her power as a force for hope and in so doing she has been an inspirational
monarch.
“She is in herself the personification of goodness, faith and values in our world.
“Her Majesty’s incredible achievements and true commitment to the people of the UK,
Commonwealth and the world, who she has served with absolute grace and dignity, will be celebrated
today, and I join, with my family, many millions of others in wishing HM Queen Elizabeth II,
a very happy and joyful birthday.”
While Princess Haya has not posted on her Instagram account since February, previous
posts make her love for horses all too clear.
Her penultimate post is a photo of her snuggling up to a horse with the caption “good morning.”
The Queen is famous for her love of horses and attended her Trooping the Colour celebrations
on horseback until 1986.
Her Majesty’s calendar is blocked out for five days at Royal Ascot every year and she
is often photographed looking her happiest when around horses.