Saudi Royal Drama: It Pays to Be a Secret Queen
Shelter in place—there’s a high drama alert on the streets of London, where a secret queen has come forth to claim her fortune.
Here’s the story: a prince fell in love with a young commoner—he converted her to Islam—he married her—he forced her to have three abortions—and then he went on with his life like nothing happened.
The secret relationship between former Saudi King Fahd and his then-19-year-old bride, Janan Harb, was short—according to reports, Harb was forced to leave the country just two years after their alleged 1968 marriage and soon remarried. But she never forgot the king and the king never forgot to replenish her bank account.
For in exchange for the silent partnership agreement, Fahd had promised to “look after [Harb] financially for the rest of her life.” And from that day on, in sickness and in health, she had a royal expense account to have, and to hold, and to use to cover gambling debts.
But the problem with secrets, besides the fact that people keep them from me, is that they’re very difficult to enforce in a court of law.
And so in 2003, as King Fahd lay dying, Harb had a secret meeting with his son, Prince Abdul Aziz at the Dorchester Hotel. There, according to reports, she graciously offered to refrain from writing a tell-all book in exchange for money and property.
Harb said Prince Abdul Aziz, the son of another wife of the king, met her at the Dorchester hotel in London on 20 June 2003 when the king was seriously ill.
In the early hours of the morning he agreed to pay her £12m and transfer back to her two flats in Chelsea, to keep his father’s promise of lifelong financial support.
This is all according to a British court, which this week upheld the agreement, despite written denials from Aziz.
Sayeth the secret queen: “What’s £12m? It’s their laundry bill every week. It’s not like it’s their money. I worked for that money. If they don’t pay I will spill the beans in a book I have written.”
And they all lived happily ever after.
