Inside the Al Fayed family: From ill-fated royal romance to 'Succession-style' battle over their father's fortune Did you work at Harrods and want to tell your story? Email [email protected].
uk By Kamal Sultan Published: 11:45 BST, 19 September 2024 | Updated: 11:49 BST, 19 September 2024 e-mail View comments Mohamed Al Fayed's rose from a poverty-stricken childhood in the backstreets of Egyptian city Alexandrian to the top of British high society but his life has been marred by controversy. The high profile businessman, who amassed a £1.3billion fortune before his death in August 2023 aged 94, has been accused of rape and sexual assault by more than 20 female ex-employees.
Meanwhile his four surviving children war over their inheritance which includes a property empire boasting swanky apartment buildings that overlook Hyde Park , a Scottish castle and apartments in New York. Al Fayed had son Dodi , who died in a car crash with Princess Diana in 1997, with his first wife Saudi Arabian Samira Khashoggi in 1955 before they divorced a year later. He later married Finnish socialite and model Heini Wathén in 1985 and they had four children together- Jasmine, born 1980, Karim, born 1983, Camilla born 1985 and Omar born 1987.
Mohammed Al Fayed (right) with his eldest son Dodi at a party for the film Hook in 1992. The Egyptian businessman's eldest child died in a car crash in 1997 After marrying Finnish socialite Heini Wathén, Al Fayed had another four children, including Camilla (above) Al Fayed also had two sons - Karim (left) and Omar (right) - with Ms Wathén Al Fayed famously owned London's high end department store Harrods from 1985 to 2010, and had still owned the Paris Ritz - which he bought in 1979 - upon his death. The son of an Egyptian schools inspector, Mr Al Fayed's illustrious career had humble beginnings.
He first sold fizzy drinks, before turning his attention to the sale of Singer sewing machines. READ MORE Mohamed Al Fayed's rape accusers are 'angry' that The Crown portrayed him as 'funny and gregarious' But it was when he began building a career in real estate, shipping and construction that his luck turned, and he established his family's fortune first in the Middle East and then in Europe. Al Fayed's eldest child Dodi, from his first marriage with Samira, was a film producer and worked through the family's company Allied Stars and was an executive producer on Chariots of Fire.
He enjoyed a short-lived romance with Princess Diana before the pair were killed in a car crash in central Paris in August 1997. Al Fayed seized on his son's brief dalliance with Princess Diana as a way to the heart of the British aristocracy, and he was devastated to lose both his beloved Dodi and his path into the Royal Family. At the royal's inquest in London, the billionaire explosively accused Prince – now King – Charles of being 'happy' now that the Royal Family had 'cleared the decks, they finished her, they murdered her'.
His claims led to the Harrods store being stripped of its four royal warrants — the right to declare that a company supplies goods by appointment to the Royal Family. Al Fayed alleged the Dodi and Diana were murdered by the security services on the orders of Prince Philip to prevent her from marrying a Muslim. His eldest daughter Jasmine Al Fayed, pictured here at the Victoria & Albert Museum in September 2007, has kept out of the public eye Mohamed Al Fayed pictured with his wife Heini Wathen in 2016.
The couple had four children Al Fayed married his first wife Samira Khashoggi in 1954, but divorced just a couple of years later. Pictured: Samira Khashoggi with the couple's only son, Dodi Dodi Al Fayed pictured with his dog. The film producer struck up a romance with Diana, Princess of Wales before his death He also claimed the princess was pregnant at the time of the accident, though he had no evidence of either claim.
Following his death last year, Al Fayed's four children from his marriage with Finnish model Wathén have reportedly been involved in a Succession-style battle over his inheritance. READ MORE The rise and fall of Mohamed Al Fayed: How Egyptian market trader bought his way into high society His daughter Camilla Fayed, 39, was charged with robbery in December after allegedly ordering her bodyguards to steal her brother's phone at the tycoon's Surrey mansion. She and her Syrian businessman husband, Mohamed Esreb, 43, and their close protection officers - decorated Afghanistan veteran Matthew Littlewood, 34, and Andrew Bott, 51 - were accused of conspiring to steal a £1,900 iPhone belonging to Omar Fayed.
The robbery is said to have happened in the gym of Barrow Green Court, the family's sprawling Grade-I listed estate in Oxted, Surrey. All four defendants were charged with a single count of robbery after a lengthy police investigation, with the incident said to have taken place on May 18, 2020. Camilla runs vegan restaurant Farmacy in Notting Hill which is enjoyed by celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Woody Harrelson.
Her brother Omar, also a vegan, was a founding director of the company before he was reported to have left the board in 2017 reluctantly. Karim Al Fayed is pictured attending Vogue World: Paris 2024 earlier this year ahead of the Olympics Camilla Al Fayad seen at the Fashion Trust Arabia winners party at the Connaught Hotel in London in June 2023 Mohamed Al Fayed is pictured with his children Omar (far left) and Karim (second right) at the world premiere of Spectre in London in 2015 Dodi Al Fayed with Diana in St Tropez in August 1997. Just over a week later the pair were dead, killed in a car crash in Paris Mohamed Al Fayed with the Queen in 1997.
His business connections and charity work saw him mixing with high society despite his complaints about what he saw as establishment bias He has spoken about tensions with Camilla's husband in the past and in 2021 said: 'It seems his influence upon Camilla and in my family has not necessarily been a favourable one. 'Before they were together, my sister and I were very close. Of course, it’s sad and unfortunate.
' Omar and Camilla's husband Esreb allegedly got into a 'physical altercation' at Al Fayed's Surrey estate during lockdown in 2020. In High court later that year, Omar claimed £100,000 in damages for an assault he alleged was orchestrated by Camilla and Esreb which she denied and claimed he was a heavy user of illegal drugs. Omar was expected to become the next chairman of Harrods but he decided to resign in 2009.
He was concerned that the department store was not the 'ethical workspace' he wanted and the business was sold to the Qatari royal family for a reported £1.5billion. Omar is an environmentalist who launched his own social media platform called EarthX which seeks to focus a user's mind when posting using a 3D globe.
READ MORE BREAKING NEWS Former Harrods boss Mohamed Al Fayed accused of rape at luxury London department store He also launched Swiss-based Earth Space Technical Ecosystem Enterprises which aims to facilitate the settlement of humans on other planets. Al Fayed's eldest daughter Jasmine is the former owner of a fashion brand who is married to heavy-metal rocker Noah Johnson from Wales. She mostly keeps out of the public eye and did one public interview in 2005 after celebrities including Victoria Beckham, Rihanna and Sienna Miller were spotted wearing her Jasmine di Milo designs.
Jasmine had her own Harrods boutique at the age of 24 but hit out at claims this was due to nepotism. 'No, never, because at the end of the day it's a family business and it's always been a part of my dream to put a piece of me in it. I've always been involved in it and, in a sense, groomed to, you know,' she told the Guardian in 2005.
'It wasn't anything to do with nepotism; I don't know why people would say that.' Karim is Al Fayed's second eldest son and also likes to keep out of the public eye. He contracted meningitis as a toddler and is profoundly deaf.
He set up the Karim Fayed Hearing Centre in 2009 which helps people with mild hearing loss. It offers free tests and makes bespoke hearing aids. Karim is also a keen photographer who launched an exhibition in London in 2010.
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