Runaway Princess Bride Could Prove Politically Explosive for Gulf Royals.
A divorce case in London later this month featuring Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum,
Dubai's billionaire ruler, and his runaway estranged wife is likely to cast a highly
unflattering light on one of the Arab's world richest families, according to analysts.
It also may help solve a two-decades-old mystery of how a teenage daughter of the sheikh was
bundled back to the Gulf after she fled from a family home in the English countryside with
plans to pursue a life independent of the Emirati royals.
The divorce case against 45-year-old Princess Haya bint al-Hussein is due to start in Britain's
high court at the end of the month. The princess is one of the Dubai ruler's six wives and
the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan. She fled to London with her two children and
now reportedly is hiding out with them in a $100 million home in a posh west London
neighborhood on a street known as Billionaires' Row.
The princess reportedly has requested political asylum in Britain. Britain's interior minister
has declined to confirm or deny the reports, saying it doesn't comment on individual cases.
But friends of Princess Haya told the BBC she fled Dubai "in fear of her life."
Angry poem.
Following her departure, her 69-year-old husband, who is also an amateur poet, posted an angry
poem written in Arabic on Instagram. It was addressed to an unnamed person, but it is
believed to directed at the princess, a claim Dubai authorities deny.
The poem read in part: "You betrayer, you betrayed the most precious trust, and your
game has been revealed ... You no longer have any place with me/ Go to who you have been
busy with!/ And let this be good for you; I don't care if you live or you die."
Both the sheikh and his estranged wife have hired some of the highest-profile divorce
lawyers money can buy in the British capital. One of the attorneys represented Prince Charles
in his 1996 split from Princess Diana; another was lead counsel for movie director Guy Ritchie
in his divorce from pop star Madonna.
And the London gossip columns and tabloids have been having a field day with the clash,
publishing allegations that the British-educated princess, who attended a private British boarding
school and Oxford University � wants to marry one of her bodyguards, a Briton. A former
Olympic equestrian, the first hint of trouble came earlier this year when the princess didn't
appear at Britain's Royal Ascot horse races, which she normally attends without fail.
But the high society drama of a princess fleeing an aging Gulf potentate has serious potential
political ramifications both for Britain's relations with Dubai and could roil ties among
Middle Eastern royal families. The sheikh is also the UAE prime minister.
Political repercussions.
The Jordanian royal family, including her half-brother, Jordan's reigning monarch King
Abdullah, reportedly are alarmed at the possible ramifications of the marital breakdown. Jordan
relies on aid from the UAE and other Gulf countries.
The UAE is a key Middle Eastern ally for Britain, which has lucrative defense contracts with
Dubai and is eager to boost business with the UAE after Britain leaves the European
Union. Princess Haya enjoys good relations with Britain's monarch, Queen Elizabeth, as
does her husband, and with the younger British royals, who share her commitment to global
humanitarian issues. The princess has been a U.N. messenger for various causes.
"How will the queen avoid being dragged into one of Britain's biggest ever divorces?" Britain's
Daily Mail headlined recently.
Even more importantly and politically disruptive, the case may shed some light on what happened
to two of the sheikh's daughters, who fled in previous years, but were subsequently bundled
back to Dubai.
One of Princess Haya's stepdaughters, Princess Latifa, was seized on a yacht off India by
Emirati commandos while allegedly attempting to escape Dubai in March last year.
Alleged abduction.
Before she was intercepted, Princess Latifa posted a video on a social media site alleging
she had suffered abuse at the hands of her father and Emirati authorities. The Emirati
authorities dismissed allegations over Latifa's treatment, claiming she was "vulnerable to
exploitation" and had been kidnapped.
The UAE has refused to cooperate with a United Nations inquiry about Princess Latifa's alleged
abduction.
Rights campaigners are hoping that Princess Haya's case, if it develops into a full-scale
contested legal battle and isn't settled privately, may also reveal some clues about a two-decades-old
mystery over another one of the sheikh's daughters, Shamsa al-Maktoum, who is now 37 years old.
That could prove more politically explosive.
Princess Shamsa ran away from the family estate in southern England in 2000. She appeared
to have been seized near the English town of Cambridge and flown back to Dubai. She
has not been seen in public since. The British police launched an investigation into abduction
allegations but failed to reach a conclusion.
"Human rights violations, abuse, and unlawful detention are not private family matters;
they are crimes; and the victims must be protected, and the witnesses need to testify about what
they know," said Radha Stirling of the campaigning group Detained in Dubai, which was founded
in 2008.
"Princess Haya, in all likelihood, is both a victim and a witness; and thus we hope she
will remain safe, and that she will also cooperate with international authorities," she added.