The court battle between Princess Haya of Jordan, 45, and her 70-year-old multimillion-dollar husband, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – the Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai is regarding their children.
After international publicity over a rumoured divorce and Haya fleeing Dubai to seek asylum in the UK, the couple released a statement through the high court on Thursday regarding the court proceedings due to begin soon on 30 and 31 July in London.
The statement was released after a private hearing before the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane. It said, “These proceedings are concerned with the welfare of the two children of their marriage and do not concern divorce or finances.”
They added that this case is to “deal with issues relating to how to proceed to a final hearing to determine the welfare issues.”
The two children are 11-year-old Sheikha Jalila and seven-year-old Sheikh Zayed who were rumoured to have fled with their mother to Europe.
Princess Haya, the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan and half-sister of King Abdullah, is one of the Sheikh’s several wives, and they married in 2004. Last month, reports began circulating that Her Royal Highness had fled Dubai, first to Germany and then to the UK where she was supposedly in hiding, requesting asylum.
Sheikh Mohammed, represented by Lady Helen Ward of Stewarts, opened the legal case against Haya in May; it is due to be heard in the Family Division of the High Court. CNN spoke to the Royal Courts of Justice who said, “The case was last heard on the 22 May 2019 before Mr Justice Moor, and the case is next listed before the President on the 30th July 2019.”
Princess Haya has Fiona Shackleton, who represented the Prince of Wales in his divorce from Diana, Princess of Wales, representing her.
