Daily Mail, Thursday, August 1, 2019 Page 31
He has shining swords
with sharp blades...
Sheik’s cryptic
poem as wife
seeks court
protection
The billionaire sheik was not in
the London courtroom as Prin-
cess Haya, his sixth wife, battled
for British protection.
She asked a senior judge for a
‘non-molestation order’. She also
urged the court to protect one of
her children from being forced
into an arranged marriage, apply-to the United Arab Emirates,
where he is prime minister.
The poem was posted on his
Instagram page at 4.06pm UK
time on Tuesday, about an hour
and a half after the High Court
allowed journalists to report the
protection orders applications.
Another of the sheik’s poems,
published shortly after his wife
ran away earlier this year, accused
an unnamed woman of ‘treachery
and betrayal’, adding: ‘The big-
gest mistake you did was to lie...
I don’t care if you live or die.’
Princess Haya, the half-sister of
Jordan’s King Abdullah, report-
edly took £31million with her
when she fled to her £85million
London townhouse next to Ken-
sington Palace about three
months ago ‘in fear of her life’,
according to the BBC. She andTHE ruler of Dubai pub-
lished a cryptic poem about
‘shining swords with sharp
blades’ after his youngest
wife appeared at the High
Court seeking a protection
order common in domestic
violence cases.
Sheik Maktoum’s wife Prin-
cess Haya, 45, who fled the
Gulf state with her two chil-
dren to hide in London ‘in fear
of her life’, was seen for the
first time in months when she
arrived at the court.
But shortly after media reports
from the hearing began circulat-
ing, the sheik – a self-declared
poet – published a rambling verse
on his official Instagram account
on Tuesday afternoon.
Written in Arabic, it contains a
line that translates as: ‘He has
shining swords with sharp blades.
In their sheaths, they can cut if
drawn. For confronting and keep-
ing away the enemies, he has
many soldiers. He has protected
heroes so that nobody will con-
spire against them.’
In the Gulf, the poem, entitled
Swords of the Excellencies, was
being interpreted as a commen-
tary on the politics of the region.the sheik are both friends of the
Queen and their estimated
£4.5billion divorce could be the
costliest in British legal history.
The divorce case has not
started yet, but yesterday the
princess was back at the High
Court for the second day of a
preliminary hearing to determine
the fate of their children.
Her legal team is led by Baron-
ess Shackleton, nicknamed the
‘Steel Magnolia’, who handled the
divorces of Prince Charles and Sir
Paul McCartney. The sheik, who
owns racing stables in Newmar-
ket, Suffolk, is represented by a
team including three QCs.
Both parents are seeking cus-
tody of the children. Because the
case is being held in private at the
family court, nothing from yester-
day’s hearing can be reported.By Sam Greenhill
Chief ReporterDivorcing: Sheik Maktoum with wife Princess Haya‘I don’t care if
you live or die’
Legal
battle:
Princess
Haya
leaves
court
yesterdaying for a ‘forced marriage protec-
tion order’. This is designed to
stop someone who may be at risk
of a forced marriage from being
taken out of the UK.
Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al
Maktoum, 70, one of the world’s
richest men, has demanded the
‘summary return’ of his children