Princess Haya gets £554m as divorce settlement from her ex-husband, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum!

The biggest divorce settlement of the UK just happened. The Family Division of the High Court awarded Princess Haya, the sixth wife of the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum £554m as part of her divorce settlement. This money settlement is more than the previous highest settlement of £450m that was made in 2016 in favor of the ex-wife of Russian oligarch Farkhad Akhmedov.

Princess Haya and her divorce settlement

Princess Haya bint Hussein, 47, the ex-wife of Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, 73, the current ruler of Dubai will get £554m from her ex-husband so that she and her children can lead a safe and affluent life to which they are used to. She will receive £251m as a lump sum money. Most part of this will go towards the security of the Princess and her children. The biggest threat to her life was from her ex-husband. And the money would help her to remain safe until 2068. The 73-page judgment mentioned that she and her children had a real, clear and ever-present risk to their lives.

Princess Haya
Princess Haya (Source: Telegraph UK)

They also faced risk of kidnap just like their step-siblings, Shamsa and Latifa whom the Sheikh kidnapped in Cambridge and on a yacht off the Indian coast respectively. The judgment said:

There will remain a clear and present risk to HRH for the remainder of her life, whether it be from HH (her ex) or just the normal terrorist and other threats faced by the princess in her position.

Additionally, £290m would be payment for maintenance of her two children with her ex-husband; Jalila, 14, and Zayed, 9. The ruler of Dubai has a net worth of £5bn. Hence he can easily make the payments. The settled amount is less than what her lawyers, Fiona Shackleton and Nicholas Cusworth QC asked for namely £ 1.4bn.

Also, read Abbey Humphreys in the Netflix show Twentysomethings: Austin: Know about her early life, career, married life, ex-husband, and divorce!

Why did Haya flee to London?

Princess Haya had an affair with her British bodyguard, Russell Flowers. This led to collapse of her 16-year-old marriage. Also Russell’s 4-year-old marriage broke down due to it. Russell was with the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment for 5 years. After this in 2016, he worked for Haya. He used to accompany her on her overseas trips and both used to take adjacent rooms in the hotel. He used to guard her when she resided at the sheikh’s 3,000 acre estate Dalham Hall in Suffolk.

Princess Haya
Haya with ex-husband (Source: BBC)

Three former bodyguards of Haya were blackmailing her over this alleged affair and she had to shell out £7m to pay them. Their names are not disclosed but they are referred to as A, B, and C. A got £2.5m and B and C got a total of £4.45m. She withdrew the money from her daughter’s account. The judge said:

‘It sticks in the throat that these people have been able to get away with this and have not been charged.’

‘This was clearly a most unsatisfactory episode. I realise I have not heard from the alleged blackmailers but nobody should be blackmailed and HRH must have been very frightened at this point. It would have been better if she had used her own allowance to fund all these payments.’

After the Sheikh came to know about her affair, he left a loaded gun in her bedroom. Sheikh’s men also told her that a helicopter would take her to prison. Haya was frightened. Hence she fled to London and sought the help of the UK law for divorce and protection.

Russell refused to comment on this affair since he was bond by a non-disclosure agreement. During the custody battle, the Sheikh had also hacked the phones of Haya and lawyer Fiona.

Haya’s jewellery and other items and belongings

The judge awarded another £20m to Haya for the items she left behind at her Dubai home when she fled. These included designer clothes and jewellery and are unlikely to be retrieved. After she left Dubai for good, she and her kids are staying in a £100m worth mansion in Kensington and in a country home near Egham in Surrey.

Princess Haya
Princess Haya with ex-husband(Source: The Times)