Sheik Mohamed On December 21st, 2021, Sheik Mohamed,
the ruler of Dubai, was ordered to pay his wife, Princess Haya, more than $700 million
after the gavel dropped during their divorce proceedings. But that's not the craziest part.
A judge also ordered Sheik to remove an Instagram post containing a passionate
poem he wrote to his wife after leaving him in 2019 and fleeing the Emirate city with their two
children. The post included a not-so-subtle threat: I don't care if you live or you die.
Maktoum Dynasty When Sheik posted the
controversial Instagram post, the Royal marriage was far beyond repair. Implicit death threats
tend to do that. But just a few years prior, the marriage was the envy of
many around the world. It was a unification of billions of dollars and ancient titles,
like a British Royal wedding, but with more money… way more money. Sheik,
whose full name and title is Sheik bin Rashid al Maktoum, has an estimated net worth of $14
billion. Though, at the time of his divorce, he was estimated to be worth around 4 to 6 billion.
He inherited his fortune from his father, Sheik Rashid, who was the leader behind Dubai's
transformation from a desolate port city in the 50s, to the architectural behemoth it is today.
Sheik Rashid invested his oil money into the city, creating a robust economy that
doesn't just rely on its ample reserves of black gold. Sheik Rashid intended for his
children and grandchildren to inherit something that would continue after the oil rigs dried up.
Sheik Mohamed and other members of the dynasty are involved in managing financial institutions,
banks, construction companies, and real estate. Since taking over as ruler of Dubai in 2006,
Sheik oversaw his father's vision and brought it further than anyone
could have imagined. Today, Dubai looks like something out of a Star Wars film.
However, despite its futuristic and progressive-looking architecture,
the city, or emirate, is ruled by a monarch, a style of government many
modern westerners don’t agree with. Nevertheless, Sheik Mohammed and
his contemporaries still live as they did centuries ago, including Royal marriages.
Equestrian The Sheik and Princess
Haya first met at equestrian events. As it so happens, Princess Haya grew up riding horses
in equestrian competitions. She was even good enough to attend the 2000 Sydney Olympics,
where Haya had the privilege of carrying her country's flag during the opening ceremony.
Like an Emirate state, Jordan is ruled by a monarchy. However, Jordan's hereditary rulers
are kept in check by a constitution. Haya is Jordan's Princess. Her father,
the former King of Jordan, and head of the house of Hashim connects her to a
long line of rulers that trace back to 986 AD, making her a great match for Sheik Mohammed.
In 2004, the Royal couple married in a lavish but humble ceremony in Haya's home in Jordan.
The ceremony took place in a decorated living room area, where Mohammed, then 55,
and Haya, who was 30 at the time, sat on a couch with her parents. They casually conversed,
said their vows, signed the papers and forged a new royal dynasty between their countries.
Mr and Mrs Dubai The media described them as the perfect couple.
Like their British contemporaries, the Sheik and Princess appeared in public together as
two Royals—as a team. Princess Haya was often seen and photographed at social events.
Citizens of the United Arab Emirates saw their Princess wearing beautiful dresses,
an array of big fancy hats, and giving a warm, genuine-looking smile to cameras and people alike.
They were proud of their Princess and the happy family she was helping create.
The couple had their first child in 2007, a girl named Sheikha al Jalila. Five years later, they
had a boy named Sheik Zayed. The royal quartet seemed to be a happy family. They smiled together,
hugged each other, and looked about as normal as a Royal family with billions of dollars could look.
But that was out in public. Behind the gold curtains was a problem waiting to reveal itself.
Russell Flowers
Russell Flowers was a bodyguard and security expert who worked for Princess Haya during
her time in Dubai. He can be seen in many photos with Princess Haya,
walking behind her, his brow furrowed as he observes her during international events.
Flowers is a big burly guy and looks like your typical bodyguard.
Though he's not all that into horses, he has a lot in common with Haya. They both call
England home. Flowers lives in Suffolk, while Haya currently resides in a mansion
in Kensington. Princess Haya attended school there and fell in love with the culture.
And in 2017, she fell for Flowers as well.
According to travel records, Haya took Flowers on almost every international trip she took
since 2017. Flowers' official position was close protection officer, meaning wherever Haya went,
Flowers followed. At the peak of their affair, Haya would travel to her family's country estate
in England with Flowers, among other exotic locations—all the while buying her protection
officer a Range Rover, an expensive hunting rifle, designer suits, and a luxury watch.
While staying in England, Haya, who’s typically required to have two guards with her,
would dismiss the other guard but rarely waved her hand at Flowers.
Eventually, the other officers caught on to the affair. They decided the information was
too valuable to waste, so the security team in charge of Haya blackmailed the Princess. The team
told Princess Haya that they'd tell the public all about the affair if she didn't pay them.
Haya, in a panic, tapped into her then ten-year-old daughter's bank account,
withdrew $7.5 million and gave the money to her security team.
However, loose lips sink ships, and word of the affair made it back to Sheik Mohammad.
Bitter Taste There's a picture taken
during the Royal Ascot in Berkshire, England, showing Flowers holding Haya and Mohammed's
seven-year-old son. The small gesture didn't seem like much at the time. Still, it probably
leaves a sour taste in Sheik's mouth when he looks back at his marriage to Princess Haya.
It’s safe to say Mohammed did not take the news that his wife was cheating on him very well.
Without her knowledge, Sheik Mohammed divorced Haya under sharia law on December 19th, 2019,
meaning they were no longer married, in Dubai at least.
He announced the divorce on the 20th anniversary of Haya's father's death. The timing was no
coincidence. Mohammed was feeling many emotions at once, but the main driver of his decisions
seemed to be resentment. The ruler of Dubai posted a poem on Instagram that sums up his feelings at
the time quite well. In the poem, he called his former wife a "betrayer" and accused her
of breaking his "precious" trust. Mohammed went on to write that her days of lying were over,
regardless of what they were as a couple. In other words, Mohammed didn't care about the past. He
wanted to make sure Haya's future was in Dubai so that she could face the consequences of her
supposed crimes. As the last words of Mohammed's poem read: I don't care if you live, or you die.
Escaped Regardless of whether she lived or died, Princess
Haya didn't plan on staying in Dubai. So she fled the city with her two children, seeking asylum
in Germany while heading to England. Haya was scared. She feared for her life, her children's
life, and their freedom. Before she left, Haya learned something about her husband and his other
children, specifically, the Sheik's daughters, that made her flee as soon as she could.
The Princess had the right to be afraid. Sheikha Latifa,
Mohammed's daughter from a previous marriage, mysteriously disappeared after getting on his
bad side. She didn't know for sure at the time, but Haya's suspicions were warranted.
In a video shared by activists, Sheikha Latifa spends thirty-nine minutes inside her friend's
apartment talking about how cruel and controlling her father could be. After introducing herself,
her title, and her father's name and title, Latifa warned the viewer that if they're watching this
video, her life is in danger. Latifa explained why, revealing that her father had kidnapped her
sister Shamsa years ago after she tried to run away at 18. She also claimed her father would
hurt anyone to protect his reputation, even his own family. Latifa asked that
if anything were to happen to her, this video would go public, then she stopped recording.
Afterward, Latifa and her friend, Tiina Jauhiainen, got in a car and fled Dubai for the
nearby country of Oman. They kept driving until they got to the coast, then ditched the car for a
pair of jet skis and rode out to a yacht resting in the dark blue waters. Commanding the yacht
was Herve Jaubert, a former French intelligence officer. He and his crew helped the two women onto
the yacht. Once onboard, Latifa contacted someone in Dubai to notify them she was leaving the city.
About a week later, the yacht saw three large vessels pop up on their radar. The vessels were
speeding towards them. The crew realized the people racing after them were Emirati special
forces as they got closer. Radha Stirling, an activist helping Latifa escape Dubai,
says she received a voice message from Sheikha begging for help as the special forces boarded
the Nostromo. Then she heard gunshots. Stirling didn't hear from Latifa after that.
Neither did the world. However, Haya knew her husband well enough to figure out what might've
happened to Latifa. It was the same fate Haya knew she had to avoid: being held hostage in Dubai.
Pegasus Spyware Princess Haya made it to England with
her children, safe and sound. But the battle was far from over. Haya had left behind more than just
an ex-husband. She'd also left her things behind. So, she and Mohammed took their case to the high
courts of Britain. Sheik Mohammed sought to have his children returned to Dubai, while Haya applied
for her children to become wards of the court, and—as if to add salt to Mohammed's reputational
wound—she applied for a forced marriage protection order; Haya was granted both orders.
After many months of fact-finding and deliberation, the high courts of Britain
decided to release Sheik Zayed and Sheikha Jalila into Haya's custody. The court found
enough evidence to say Mohammed probably abducted his two daughters, thus taking away their liberty
by holding them captive in Dubai. They also found enough evidence to confirm Mohammed
had been stalking Haya via Pegasus spyware, which he supposedly used to hack Haya's phone.
These issues were more than enough to eliminate Mohammed as a reliable caretaker. The Pegasus
spyware and abduction controversies also didn't help Mohammed keep his money
that flew away in droves after the judge ordered Mohammed to pay his ex-wife over $700 million.
The Settlement It was one of the biggest divorce settlements
in history. Some of the $700 million was tied up in assets that Haya had bought in Dubai, assets
like horses, jewelry, Haute Couture clothing, and ponies for the kids, all of which amounted
to tens of millions of dollars. The designer clothing was nearly $100 million all on its own.
However, most of Haya's settlement money went towards maintaining her multi-million dollar
English estates and paying for lifelong security for her and the two children.
Haya also convinced the court to force Mohammed to pay each child an allowance
of $5 million per year and $15 million when they become adults. By comparison,
Bill Gates is only leaving his children $10 million in his will.
But that's nothing new for the ex-royal couple. Princess Haya and Sheik Mohamed spent lavishly
when they were together. One court record claims the couple once spent $2.6 million
during a summer vacation abroad. And though their relationship may be over,
they're still the same big spenders, living lavishly, just in different parts of the world.
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