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Dubai Princess ditches billionaire hubby, takes off with Sh4billion


Talk of double tragedy! Weeks after it emerged that he had lost hundreds of millions of shillings in a Kenyan business deal gone sour, it is now being reported that Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has been left by his wife who has taken off with approximately Sh4billion (£31million) to start a new life.

According to The Sun, Princess Haya Al Hussein, 45, who has not been seen in public since February is said to have fled to Germany with her son and daughter.

The Princess is understood to have immediately requested asylum and filed for divorce from her husband.

DIPLOMATIC ROW

The development has sparked a diplomatic row between Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the Sheikh is vice-president and the prime minister as well as being the ruler of the city of Dubai.

He is said to have asked authorities in Berlin to return the princess their son, Zayed, seven, and daughter Al Jalila, 11, to the UAE.

But they have refused and security officials are said to be protecting her.

Princess Haya is said to have told friends she chose to flee to Germany as ‘she didn’t trust UK authorities to hand her back’.

FRESH BLOW

Sheikh Mohammed, 69, worth more than an estimated Sh1 trillion, is a keen racehorse owner.

The end of his marriage is a fresh blow to the Sheik after one of his daughters – Princess Latifa bint Mohammed Maktoum, 33 – attempted to escape last year before being captured on a boat off the Indian coast.

Princess Latifa said abuse forced her to flee the kingdom – and human rights groups claim she is being held in captivity in Dubai.