Estranged Wife of Dubai Ruler Applies for Protection Orders in British Court
GREAT ESCAPE
The estranged wife of Dubai’s ruler appeared in a British court Tuesday to request a forced marriage protection order and a non-molestation order, The Guardian reports. Princess Haya, daughter of Jordan’s late King Hussein, appeared in the family court division in England’s High Court for a preliminary hearing while Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum— who recently denounced Haya as a “betrayer” on Twitter for leaving him and taking their two children—failed to show up. A forced marriage protection order seeks to protect someone who was forced into a marriage, while a non-molestation order aims to protect someone from “violence or harassment by a partner, ex-partner or family member.” The princess also reportedly applied for wardship of their children, but al-Maktoum is arguing for his children to return to Dubai. The 45-year-old princess is the sixth wife of the 70-year-old ruler. Haya’s escape to Britain has drawn parallels to the attempted getaway of Sheikha Latifa, one of Maktoum’s daughters, who temporarily disappeared last year after she was reportedly intercepted while trying to flee.