The $700 million divorce of Dubai’s ruler and 4 other royal divorces that stunned the world

Once upon a time, a Princess met a Prince and they fell in love, got married and the fairytale ended with them living happily ever after. But not all royal otherworldly love stories end happily. Some end in bitter and expensive divorce suits – well expensive by normal standards.

One such fairytale royal wedding that came to an end is that of the Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein. The bitter divorce and fight for the custody of children between the Dubai ruler and his ex-wife has been playing out in public.

DIVORCE SETTLEMENT DETAILS:

• The UK High Court has finally ordered the Dubai ruler to pay over $734 million in the divorce settlement to Princess Haya. The amount will be paid in different parts and annually. Though some reports state the actual amount will be much more than $700 million. 
• A lump sum of $333 million will be paid to Princess Haya initially.
• Other than that, the Dubai ruler will also be paying his ex-wife a sum for the upkeep of her mansions, security, travel, holidays, leisure, and also return million-dollar jewellery and couture belonging to her.
• The Dubai ruler will also pay for their two children’s education and security among other things.

The amount of the settlement may seem like a lot. But it is unlikely to hurt the billionaire Dubai ruler’s deep pockets. Princess Haya herself revealed a little about her life before the divorce during the trial. It included buying racecourses on a whim – she claimed that there are at least 400 racecourses in her and her children’s names.

Princess Haya fled the UAE with her two children in 2019 soon after her divorce. She said that she feared for her and her children's lives. The Dubai ruler divorced Princess Haya after finding out about her affair with a bodyguard. Following the divorce, Princess Haya claimed her former husband created an atmosphere of intimidation and fear.

Her escape to Britain also came when the Dubai ruler came under scrutiny for incarcerating his two other daughters including Princess Latifa. 

Theirs is not the only royal marriage that turned sour.  

Here are 4 other royal divorces from around the world which put an end to the fairytale stories:

1. JAIPUR ROYAL DIVORCE

India doesn’t often hear of scandalous royal stories like that in the UK. But it doesn’t mean that it is all roses in the world of the Indian royals either. In 2018, Princess Diya Kumari, a member of the ex-royal family of Jaipur filed for divorce from her husband Narendra Singh. The duo was officially divorced in 2019 after 21 years of marriage.

They had quite a love story as well. The Rajput community and the royal family opposed their marriage as both belonged to the same gothra.

2. PRINCE CHARLES AND PRINCESS DIANA

Perhaps this divorce will always remain part of the pop culture. Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s divorce is one of the most scandalous royal incidents to ever hit the UK. Their son Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s exit from the British royal family still doesn’t cut the scandalous rank.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles officially divorced in 1996 after living separately for nearly 4 years. Prince Charles’s affair with longtime lover Camilla Parker Bowles was the undoing.

3. DANISH ROYAL DIVORCE

When Prince Joachim and Princess Alexandra of Denmark decided to divorce in 2005, it was the first for the Danish royal family in 150 years. The couple divorced due to undisclosed reasons. Now, both are remarried and living happily ever after.

4. THAI KING’S BRUTAL DIVORCES

Thailand King Vajiralongkorn’s divorces have been quite brutal… not on himself, but the wives he left. The King’s divorce to two of his wives – second and third – involved humiliating them publicly and accusing them of several alleged crimes.

The King divorced his second wife Sujarinee Vivacharawongse in 1996. The then heir to the throne hung posters accusing his ex-wife of adultery, abuse, and fraud all around the palace walls. Sujarinee soon had to flee to Britain along with her children.  

The King also humiliated his third wife Sineenat Wongvajirapakdi and stripped her of royal titles months after honouring her with it. In July 2019, Sinnenat was named the ‘official consort’ alongside a new queen. She was the first royal consort in Thailand for almost a century. But she was stripped of her royal titles a few months later and was accused of trying to compete with the royal queen, the fourth and the current wife of the Thai king.