EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Princess Haya of Jordan seeks peace in secluded new Welsh retreat after ‘campaign of intimidation’ by Dubai’s ruler led to one of the largest divorce settlements in history
Given the ‘campaign of intimidation’ she suffered at the hands of her husband, it’s understandable that Princess Haya of Jordan wants to get away from it all. And I hear she’s found just the location . . .
I can disclose that the Oxford graduate, 48, who received one of the largest divorce settlements in history last year, has bought a secluded rural hotel in Wales that she plans to turn into a home.
The former wife of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum is said to have fallen in love with the family-run hotel, tucked away on a substantial estate. I am not naming it to protect her security.
After the High Court last year ordered Sheikh Mohammed to pay his wife a lump sum of £251.5 million, plus £5.6 million a year for each of their two children, she has been seeking another property in this country.
She fled to Britain in 2019 when the sheikh divorced her. Haya has sole custody of their son and daughter, after a judge ruled she had been subject to a ‘campaign of intimidation’.
During the proceedings, it emerged that the billionaire had attempted to buy an estate in Windsor overlooking a property owned by the Princess’s family, which was described as a ‘deliberate’ act.
I can disclose that the Oxford graduate, 48, who received one of the largest divorce settlements in history last year, has bought a secluded rural hotel in Wales that she plans to turn into a home. Pictured: Princess Haya
The former wife of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum is said to have fallen in love with the family-run hotel, tucked away on a substantial estate. Pictured: Princess Haya with then husband Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum at Epsom Derby in 2012
The former wife of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum is said to have fallen in love with the family-run hotel, tucked away on a substantial estate. (File image: Mountains of Snowdonia)
It’s thought this apparently abusive behaviour was one of the motives for her wanting to find a retreat without any possibility of disturbance.
Haya, who is the half-sister of Jordan’s ruler King Abdullah II, married Sheikh Mohammed as his second wife in 2004. By the time he divorced her — without notice on the anniversary of the death of her father, King Hussein of Jordan — she had become suspicious of his controlling behaviour.
He had already orchestrated the abduction of two of his daughters by another woman, and both are now thought to be held against their will in Dubai.
Determined to escape his grasp, Haya came to England with her two children. It was claimed the sheikh had posted a poem on Instagram in Arabic and English accusing her of betrayal and treachery. This followed her affair with her British bodyguard.
Last year, the High Court agreed that agents working for the sheikh had used the Pegasus spyware system to hack into his ex-wife’s phones.
The Crown jewels: Helena rakes in £11m
Screen stars are richer than royalty these days. I can disclose that Bafta winner Helena Bonham Carter, who played Princess Margaret in two series of Netflix hit The Crown, has amassed £11.4 million in assets at Orlando, the company she uses to channel her earnings.
Accounts filed this week report that the business made a profit of £833,277 in the year to March.
I can disclose that Bafta winner Helena Bonham Carter, who played Princess Margaret in two series of Netflix hit The Crown, has amassed £11.4 million in assets at Orlando, the company she uses to channel her earnings
A scion of a family that also includes former prime minister H. H. Asquith, she has clearly been taking tips from her brother, Edward Bonham Carter, who stepped down as chief executive of Jupiter last week after nearly three decades at the fund manager.
As the ‘practically perfect’ nanny in Mary Poppins Returns, nothing seemed to faze her, but Emily Blunt has confessed to an irrational fear. ‘I have a phobia about dead hair,’ whispers the barrister’s daughter, 39. ‘
Any sort of loose hair, like in a sink or a brush — I’m not into that.’ The actress is currently starring in BBC2 Wild West drama series The English.
Roller-skate rink revives 1970s cool
Her father, Ian ‘Flipper’ Ross, opened a roller-skating rink in West Hollywood in the 1970s that attracted a bohemian mix, from drag queens and punks to Cher, Elton John and Jane Fonda.
Now, aristocratic model Liberty Ross, 44, is launching a rink of the same name in West London, Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace.
It’s a joint venture with her husband, the U.S. billionaire tycoon Jimmy Iovine, who’s 25 years her senior. He was joined by his business partner, the rapper Dr Dre, with whom he co-founded trendy headphones company Beats Electronics.
Now, aristocratic model Liberty Ross (pictured with husband Jimmy Iovine), 44, is launching a rink of the same name in West London, Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace.
‘We will be the home to London’s roller-skating set,’ Liberty, the granddaughter of Lord Killearn, tells me. ‘I was born into the roller-skating culture.’
She divorced Hollywood director Rupert Sanders, 51, after he enjoyed a ‘momentary indiscretion’ with the now 32-year-old Twilight actress Kristen Stewart.
Duran Duran feel like they have a lifetime royal seal of approval as one of Princess Diana’s favourite acts.
Bass guitarist John Taylor says: ‘When we met Harry and William, they said, “Oh, we used to sit in the back seat and Mum would play Wild Boys and we would sing along.” That idea stuck with me, that those little boys would be going: “Wild boys.” That would be a moment for them.’
King Charles’s charity has called in a former crisis and police hostage negotiator to teach students the art of haggling.
The Prince’s Foundation, based at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, turned to Colin Harper, who has 16 years of experience in negotiating and advising in high-risk situations.
Students on its arts and craft programmes take part in a series of workshops and seminars to prepare them to run their own businesses. ‘In business, not all conversations run smoothly,’ it explains.
‘Colin is an ex-hostage negotiator, who now focuses on teaching people how to manage difficult conversations and appreciate the emotions and thought processes between both parties in any negotiation.’
A wise move for Gaia
Greg Wise said the death of his sister Clare from bone cancer in 2016 at the age of 51 had motivated him to take part in Strictly Come Dancing last year, because he realised life was ‘finite’.
I can reveal that the actor, 56, has kept a poignant connection to her because his daughter, Gaia, is to live at Clare’s home in West Hampstead, North London.
‘My boyfriend, Basil [Eidenbenz] and I are moving into her flat,’ actress Gaia, 22, tells me at the PINKLondon charity event at Proud Embankment.
I can reveal that the actor, 56, has kept a poignant connection to her because his daughter, Gaia, is to live at Clare’s home in West Hampstead, North London. Pictured: Gaia Wise and boyfriend Basil Eidenbenz
‘It’s the flat she left me when she died. Her ashes are scattered in the back garden, so I have a space where I can go and tell her stuff.’
Gaia was made an Ambassador of the Pink Ribbon Foundation, which funds charities that help breast cancer victims.
She adds of her Aunt Clare: ‘She was my everything.’
Source: Read Full Article
