How Princess Haya ran into the arms of her British ex-soldier bodyguard

The ruler of Dubai is today found to have ordered the kidnap and torture of two runaway daughters – including one from the streets of Britain.

The High Court in London said billionaire Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – a friend of the Queen – had Princess Shamsa abducted from Cambridge after she went on the run in 2000.

And it found he ordered commandos to snatch her sister Princess Latifa from a yacht in 2018 as she too tried to escape from Dubai.

Their father – one of Britain’s most important allies in the Middle East – has been declared responsible for both terrifying abductions.

Neither princess has been seen in recent times and both apparently remain locked up in their father’s palace, the High Court has found. Read the full story here

As their her marriage to the Sheikh fell apart, MailOnline revealed how the wife at the centre of the courtroom drama was involved in a tryst herself…

Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein ran into the arms of her hunky bodyguard as her marriage to Dubai’s billionaire ruler Sheikh Mohamed al Maktoum collapsed.

The princess embarked on a two-year affair with her close protection officer Russell Flowers behind the sheikh’s back, which sparked the couple’s £4.5billion divorce.

Family Court judge Sir Andrew McFarlane said the princess began an adulterous affair with the infantry soldier in 2017 and that her husband had been aware of the ‘inappropriate relationship’ for some time. 

In his damming judgement after a 10-month long court case, he said matters came to head in 2019 leading to Princess Haya becoming ‘terrified for her life’ and her husband divorcing her under Sharia Law.

Former infantry soldier Russell Flowers (pictured) is the bodyguard reported to have had ‘inappropriate contact’ with the wife of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed, sparking their divorce

Flowers, a close protection officer (pictured at Ascot with Princess Haya and Sheikh Mohammed) worked for the princess for five years where the pair struck up a close friendship

Flowers, a close protection officer (pictured at Ascot with Princess Haya and Sheikh Mohammed) worked for the princess for five years where the pair struck up a close friendship 

The close protection officer was not named in the court but he was identified as Mr Flowers last year by MailOnline.

Mr Flowers has since gone into hiding and was not called to give evidence at the Family Court hearings that ruled Sheikh Maktoum ordered the kidnap and torture of two of his runaway daughters – and conducted a campaign of fear against his wife.

Mr Flowers, 37, has never spoken about the affair and declined to comment on the relationship that led to the breakdown of his marriage when tracked down to his Suffolk home.

Friends said he was in fear of his life after his involvement with the princess became public knowledge.

Mr Flowers became close to the royal during his five-year posting as her close protection officer based at the family’s Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket and often accompanied her around the world.

A former soldier with Princess of Wales Royal Regiment he was by the princess’s side in 2018 at the Dubai ruler’s annual visit to Royal Ascot and was pictured holding her seven-year-old son.

The princess would spend time with the former Infantry soldier at the family's stunning 3,000-acre Suffolk home Dalham Hall (above). Mr Flowers lived in his marital home nearby in Newmarket before he separated from his wife

The princess would spend time with the former Infantry soldier at the family’s stunning 3,000-acre Suffolk home Dalham Hall (above). Mr Flowers lived in his marital home nearby in Newmarket before he separated from his wife

Sheikh Muhammed (above) is divorcing his wife after becoming concerned about her 'inappropriate contact' to her British close protection officer

Princess Haya (above) lavished expensive gifts on her bodyguard Mr Flowers including a £50,000 hunting rifle as he accompanied her on engagements

Sheikh Mohammed (left) is divorcing his estranged wife Princess Haya (right) after becoming concerned about his wife’s ‘inappropriate contact’ to her British close protection officer

Independent sources in Dubai and London confirmed to MailOnline that Sheikh Mohammed  had grown suspicious of Princess Haya's time spent with her bodyguard

Independent sources in Dubai and London confirmed to MailOnline that Sheikh Mohammed  had grown suspicious of Princess Haya’s time spent with her bodyguard

Sources within the Dubai royal family said the princess insisted that Mr Flowers accompanied her on every foreign trip.

She is said to have lavished him with gifts and bought him a Range Rover as well as other presents including a £50,000 custom made hunting rifle, Saville Row suits and a watch.

The top of the range car is said to have a personalised number plate.

Following the break-up of his own marriage to his wife, the princess is also said to have bought a farmhouse to accommodate him in a village near Newmarket, Suffolk, where he was based.

Sources told MailOnline the friendship between Flowers and the princess was an open secret among the mostly ex-military men who formed the protection team for her and her children aged seven and 11.

Haya would always be accompanied by two bodyguards but on many occasions would dismiss one of them so she would just be left with Flowers, the source claimed.

One member of her team who told her this was a breach of security protocol had his contract terminated was given a pay-off and asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, it is claimed.

The source said: ‘Princess Haya has always had a completely separate security detail from her husband and it was their job to protect her and the kids.

Princess Haya is pictured with her husband Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum at Ascot Racecourse in 2008

Princess Haya is pictured with her husband Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum at Ascot Racecourse in 2008

Timeline of the legal battle between Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his wife Princess Haya bint Al Hussain 

The High Court in London has published rulings relating to the legal battle between Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his former wife Princess Haya bint Al Hussain of Jordan.

Here is a timeline of events in the case.

July 15, 1949 – Sheikh Mohammed is born in Dubai.

May 3, 1974 – Princess Haya born in Amman, Jordan.

August 15, 1981 – Princess Shamsa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is born to Sheikh Mohammed, who has several wives.

December 5, 1985 – Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is born.

Summer 2000 – During a visit to England, Shamsa runs away from her family and seeks immigration advice to try and stay in the UK.

August 2000 – Shamsa is taken from the streets of Cambridge by men working for her father. 

She is taken to her father’s home in Newmarket, before being taken by helicopter to France and then to Dubai. She has not been seen in public since.

March 2001 – A woman claiming to be Shamsa contacts Cambridgeshire Police, saying she has been taken from England to Dubai.

December 2001 – The Guardian publishes an article suggesting Shamsa has been abducted from the UK.

April 2004 – Sheikh Mohammed and Princess Haya are married.

December 2, 2007 – Al Jalila born.

January 7, 2012 – Zayed born.

February/March 2018 – A video of Latifa is uploaded to the internet, in which she gives a detailed account of important events in her life. She also describes what she knows about her sister Shamsa’s time in England and her subsequent abduction.

December 6, 2018 – The BBC broadcasts a documentary called Escape From Dubai: The Mystery Of The Missing Princess.

February 7, 2019 – Sheikh Mohammed divorces Princess Haya under sharia law without her knowledge. She says this date, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of her father’s death, is deliberately chosen to ‘maximise insult and upset to her’.

April 15 – Princess Haya travels to the UK with Jalila and Zayed.

May 14 – Sheikh Mohammed issues proceedings at the High Court in London seeking the summary return of his two children with Princess Haya to Dubai.

May 22 – First High Court hearing before Mr Justice Moor – the media, who are unaware of the hearing or even the proceedings, do not attend.

July 16 – On the eve of a ‘scoping hearing’ to consider media issues before Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the family division of the High Court, Princess Haya issues applications to make the children wards of court, for a forced marriage protection order and for a non-molestation order.

July 17 – Three journalists attend and lawyers for Sheikh Mohammed apply for them to be excluded. Sir Andrew says the hearing is relatively short while those in court ‘simply scope out what lies before us’ and to consider what information, if any, should be given to the media. The judge adds that the parties will issue a short statement explaining the nature of the proceedings.

July 18 – With the permission of the court, the parties release the following statement: ‘The parties to these proceedings are HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein. These proceedings are concerned with the welfare of the two children of their marriage and do not concern divorce or finances.’

July 30 – At a hearing to work out issues, including the question of media reporting and to how to proceed to a final hearing to determine the welfare issues, Sir Andrew allows the media to report that Sheikh Mohammed has applied for the summary return of the children to Dubai, and that Princess Haya has applied for the children to be made wards of court, for a non-molestation order and a forced marriage protection order.

November 12-13 – Sir Andrew conducts a hearing to make findings of fact in relation to Princess Haya’s allegations against Sheikh Mohammed.

December 11 – The judge delivers his ruling on the fact-finding hearing. However, strict reporting restrictions preventing its publication remain in force.

January 17, 2020 – The judge delivers a ruling on a series of ‘assurances and waivers’ given by Sheikh Mohammed to Princess Haya. He also conducts a hearing to determine whether his earlier rulings should be made public.

January 27 – Sir Andrew concludes that his earlier rulings should be published, but the publication is postponed pending a Court of Appeal challenge by Sheikh Mohammed to this decision.

February 26 – The Court of Appeal hears Sheikh Mohammed’s challenge.

February 28 – Three leading judges dismiss his appeal and refuse to grant him permission to appeal to the Supreme Court. The stay on publication remains in force to give the father chance to make a fresh challenge to the Supreme Court.

March 5 – The Supreme Court announces that it has refused permission to appeal and all previous rulings are made public. 

The judge’s conclusions are that Princess Haya was subjected to a sustained campaign of fear and intimidation by her former husband. He also finds that Shamsa and Latifa were abducted on their father’s orders.

‘There were many occasions when two bodyguards would be with her, but she would dismiss one or Flowers would tell the other he was not needed.

‘This meant when they went out she was not fully protected as there would be no one in a back-up car. The protection team took their jobs very seriously and did not want to lose their jobs for anything going wrong that could be avoided.

‘When the concerned bodyguard brought this up with the princess explaining it was a breach of protocol he had his contract terminated. Of course he signed a non-disclosure agreement.’

Before becoming the princess’s bodyguard Flowers had worked for a private security firm. After leaving Mayfield College in East Sussex he joined the army and served for almost six years in the 2nd Battalion of The Princess of Wales Regiment from 2003 to 2009.

According to his LinkedIn page he was a Maritime Security Office for two years serving on oil tankers at risk from hijacking by pirates off the Somalia coast.

In 2012 he joined the Knight Security Group and two years later joined UK Mission Enterprise Ltd.

The Dubai Government owns the Belgravia based security and concierge firm which provides round the clock protection as well as domestic help for the Dubai Royal family at their UK residences.

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum: the ‘modernising Sheikh’ accused by human-rights activists of ‘torturing political dissidents by electrocution’ and ‘spying’ – as well as ‘running secret detention camps in war-torn Yemen’

Sheikh Maktoum is Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai. Since his accession in 2006, he has undertaken sweeping reforms in the UAE’s Government, and has been held responsible for turning Dubai into a wealthy and global mega city. 

The sheikh trained in the military before being appointed to head of the Dubai Police Force and Dubai Defence Force, and was the UAE’s first defence minister in December 1971. In January 1995, he was pronounced Crown Prince by his elder brother Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and embarked upon a policy of tackling Government corruption that led to the arrest, charging, and unusual public ‘naming and shaming’ of 14 officials, including six officers. 

After around one decade of acting as the UAE’s de facto ruler, he became Vice President in January 2006, and Prime Minister of the UAE that February. He has created and encouraged the growth of numerous Dubai businesses and economic assets, including Dubai World, Dubai Holding, and Emirates flight. 

Sheikh Maktoum’s rule has been mired in controversy. Allegations concerning the abduction of two of his children – princesses Shamsa and Latifa – have been brought to the forefront during the high-profile High Court case involving his wife Princess Haya, who fled Dubai in 2019.

He has come under criticism by human-rights groups for alleged infractions, presiding as he does over a judicial system which mandates the execution of criminals by firing squad, hanging, or stoning. Sentencing for flogging – a legal punishment for criminal offences such as adultery, premarital sex, and alcohol consumption – ranges between 80 and 200 lashes. Apostasy from Islam and homosexuality are a crimes punishable by death, while women in the country require permission from male guardians to marry and remarry. 

It is not permitted to be critical of the UAE Government, royal families, officials, and police, in any way. Attempts to demonstrate in public are met with resistance. Human Rights Watch has accused the UAE regime of violating rights to freedom of expression, while US intelligence identified that the UAE had developed its own messaging app – to be used for spying purposes.

The UAE Government has also been accused of kidnapping, detaining, and torturing political opponents and expats, often to extract forced confessions of alleged plots to overthrow the regime. For instance, during the Arab Spring in 2011, at least 100 activists were jailed and tortured. 

The Arab Organisation of Human Rights listed 16 different methods of torture used by the UAE Government, including electrocution. Meanwhile, Amnesty International accused the UAE of running secret prisons in Yemen where prisoners are forcibly disappeared and tortured.

Pictured: Today the Supreme Court in London refused to hear Sheikh Al Maktoum's appeal

Pictured: Today the Supreme Court in London refused to hear Sheikh Al Maktoum’s appeal 

Almost all members of the protection team are ex-military.

Mr Flowers was primarily based at Dalham Hall, the stunning 3,300 acre country estate owned by the sheikh about six miles from Newmarket town centre.

A short distance away are the world famous Godolphin Stables, the centre of all the Sheikh’s horse racing and breeding activities.

Princess Haya, an accomplished horsewoman who competed in the equestrian events at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, was a frequent visitor to Dalham Hall.

The source said: ‘Flowers would go everywhere the princess went. If she went on holiday he was by her side. If she went to the races he would be there.

‘When she goes back to Dubai he would accompany her but did not work there as the royal family have their own protection.

Once the princess was in Dubai he would get on a plane and fly home. The princess took a great interest in what went on at Dalham Hall and was there most often.’

Due to her frequent visits, the bodyguard and his wife brought a Victorian cottage close to the town centre.

But the source said the marriage broke up in 2018 with his ex blaming the close friendship between her husband and the princess said to be a contributory factor.

Sheikh Maktoum is pictured shaking hands with the Queen at Ascot racecourse in June 2016 alongside his ex-wife Princess Haya Bint Al-Hussein

Sheikh Maktoum is pictured shaking hands with the Queen at Ascot racecourse in June 2016 alongside his ex-wife Princess Haya Bint Al-Hussein 

Shamsa: the princess who escaped her father’s Surrey mansion in the family’s Range Rover before being ‘abducted on the streets of Cambridge’ and flown back to UAE 

Sheikha Shamsa al-Maktoum, 38, was in the UK on holiday with her extended family at their Longcross estate near Chobham in Surrey in 2000.

In a bid to better her future and escape her life in Dubai – restricted as it is by incorporated elements of sharia, or Islamic Law – the princess used this opportunity to dodge guards and flee from her family in mid-July.

Shamsa is believed to have driven a black Range Rover to the edge of the vast estate, where the Emirati ruler had installed his family, before dumping it and slipping through an open gate onto Chobham Common. She stayed with her friends for six weeks in London before being found out by her family. 

That August, the princess was apparently abducted in Cambridge by the Sheikh’s staff while walking out of a bar and taken to an airport in southeast England, before being flown back to Dubai on a private jet. 

In March 2001, after having been contacted by a British solicitor who had spoken to Shamsa, Cambridgeshire Police began investigating the incident. During enquiries, people close to Shamsa in the UK substantiated her story of the escape, and the matter was even raised in Parliament.  However, the police investigation stalled when they ran into a denial of access to Shamsa by Dubai authorities and non-cooperation of the Longcross estate staff. 

Little is known about Shamsa’s circumstances during the past two decades, save for Latifa’s account in her video that she is kept confined to one room and constantly supervised by nurses and a psychiatrist. She is given regular medication which Latifa asserts is designed ‘to control her mind’. 

Today, the judge said that ‘the allegation that Shamsa has been deprived of her liberty for much if not all of the past two decades, living in circumstances as described by Latifa, is, I find, proved.’

A friend told MailOnline: ‘When the house was being sold the estate agent make a remark that her husband was now living in a much nicer place that had been bought for him. If she did not know the full extent of the friendship she found out then.’

The house is understood to be in the name of a private company owned by the princess. His former wife is said to have been left ‘devastated’ by the end of her marriage.

In his court judgement today Sir Andrew said: ‘Whilst the father and mother had apparently not enjoyed an intimate relationship with each other for a significant period of time, their relationship remained cordial and, seemingly, mutually supportive. 

‘The mother maintained her own household in Dubai and in England, but the father was a regular visitor, spending time with her and with the children.’

Sir Andrew also described Princess Haya as the victim of a campaign of harassment and intimidation by the Emirati sheikh. 

He said she was taunted about the affair and threatened to have her abducted by helicopter and flown to a desert prison. Loaded guns were also left in her bedroom and he divorced her without informing her.

The High Court also ruled today that the sheikh – one of Britain’s closest Middle East allies – had ordered the the kidnap and torture of two runaway daughters.

Sir Andrew ruled that Sheikh Maktoum was responsible for the abduction of Princess Shamsa in Cambridge after she went on the run in 2000.

He also ruled that the sheikh had ordered commandos to snatch her sister Princess Latifa from a yacht in 2018 as she too tried to escape from Dubai.  

Neither princess has been seen in recent times and both apparently remain locked up in their father’s palace, the High Court has found.

The court concluded, on a civil law standard of the balance of probabilities, that the Sheikh had acted ‘contrary to the criminal law of England and Wales, international law, international maritime law, and internationally accepted human rights norms’. 

In a statement issued after the judgments were published, Sheikh Mohammed said: ‘This case concerns highly personal and private matters relating to our children.

‘The appeal was made to protect the best interests and welfare of the children. The outcome does not protect my children from media attention in the way that other children in family proceedings in the UK are protected.

‘As a head of government, I was not able to participate in the court’s fact-finding process. This has resulted in the release of a ‘fact-finding’ judgment which inevitably only tells one side of the story.

‘I ask that the media respect the privacy of our children and do not intrude into their lives in the UK.’

Latifa: the princess who was ‘beaten and tortured’ after her first abortive escape, aged 16, and was ‘captured by UAE-Indian agents’ 50miles off the coast of Goa 

Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed al-Maktoum, one of the Sheikh’s children by six different wives, spent seven years plotting her escape from caged luxury. 

The princess, 33, revealed in a video message that she had first attempted fleeing Dubai aged 16, but was apparently captured by her father’s staff at the border, imprisoned for three years, beaten, and tortured. 

She first reached out to French businessman and former navy officer Jean-Pierre Hervé Jaubert, 62, at his home in the Philippines after reading how he had fled from Dubai in 2008 by dressing up in a burka to fool border agents.

Latifa is believed to have saved as much as £315,000 to pay for her escape, and had bemoaned her restricted life, trapped as she felt by her powerful father and the oppressive nature of predominantly-Islamic UAE society.

The princess met Brazilian martial artist Tiina Jauhiainen in 2014, and the two became close friends – so much so, in fact, that both plotted Latifa’s escape.  

In March 2018, Latifa, who changed her clothes and sunglasses, drove with Tiina across the UAE border to Oman, before setting out to sea. The pair, who had planned to seek political asylum in the US, faced a 26mile-trip by boat and jet ski out to international waters to meet Jaubert.  By sailing under a US flag, they hoped that any interception by UAE agents would cause an international incident. The group planned to head for Goa in India. 

After a week at sea, Jaubert claims they were being tracked by reconnaissance planes and were intercepted by Indian agents 50miles off the coast of Goa. Jaubert is thought to have survived torture.