In one of the largest divorce settlement amounts ordered by a court in the UK, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (72), ruler of Dubai, has been directed to pay more than $728 million over Rs 5500 crore) to his ex-wife Princess Haya bint al-Hussein (47).
The outrageous sum has been adjudged by the court as the expenditure needed to cover for the security of Sheikh al-Maktoum’s former wife, and the cost of bringing up the two children from the marriage, 14-year-old Al Jalila Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and 9-year-old Sheikh Zayed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The court has ordered an upfront payment of $333 million over Rs 2516 crore) in the next 3 months.
It is to be noted that the court has not fixed a value for the total settlement. As per the ruling, Sheikh al-Maktoum, who is also the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), should bear the security costs for the two children for the rest of their lives, until further court orders.
In June 2019, it was reported that Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, the sixth wife of Sheikh al-Maktoum, fled to Germany along with her children and sought a divorce. Her seeking asylum had sparked a diplomatic crisis after Berlin denied the Dubai ruler's request to return the princess and their two children.
Princess Haya is the daughter of King Hussein, the former ruler of Jordan, and half-sister of current ruler King Abdullah II.
Educated at the Oxford University, the princess married the Sheikh in 2004. According to her website, she is a former Olympic athlete, a humanitarian, a UN Messenger of Peace, a former member of the International Olympic Committee, former President of the International Equestrian Federation and the first Jordanian woman to hold a license to drive heavy trucks.
