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Dubai ruler loses appeal to keep court battle with Princess Haya private© GettyImages

Sheikh Mohammed loses court bid for secrecy over legal battle with Princess Haya

King Abdullah’s sister fled Dubai out of fear for her life


UPDATED FEBRUARY 28, 2020 12:38 PM EST

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has lost his court bid to keep his legal battle with his youngest wife,  Princess Haya , private. London's Court of Appeal ruled on Friday that two judgments relating to the case should be made public. Per The Daily Mail, Lord Justice Underhill said that it was “the unanimous decision of the court” to dismiss the ruler of Dubai’s appeal. Though the billionaire has the option to take the appeal to the Supreme Court.

Princess Haya was seen arriving to court on Feb. 28© Getty Images
Princess Haya was seen arriving to court on Feb. 28

Princess Haya, who is King Abdullah II of Jordan’s sister, was seen arriving to the High Court on February 28 in a purple ensemble with her lawyer Baroness Fiona Shackleton, who represented Prince Charles in his divorce from Princess Diana. Haya became the Sheikh’s sixth wife in 2004. The estranged couple share two young children together—HH Sheikha Al Jalila, 12, and HH Sheikh Zayed, eight.

The estranged Sheikh and Princess are currently involved in a legal battle© Getty Images
The estranged Sheikh and Princess are currently involved in a legal battle

Last year,  the Princess fled to the UK with her children in fear for her life  after reportedly discovering "disturbing facts" about the return of her stepdaughter, Princess Latifa, who attempted to flee Dubai in 2018, but was apprehended. After Haya left, Mohammed shared a cryptic poem on his social media account that read: “You betrayer, you betrayed the most precious trust, and your game has been revealed. Your days of lying are over and it doesn’t matter what we were and what you are.”

Back in July, the mom of two applied for a protective order to prevent one of her children from being forced into marriage, in addition to a non-molestation order, which can help protect an individual who is being forced into marriage, or already in a forced marriage, and wardship of her kids. At the time, the Princess and her husband said in a statement that their legal case did not concern divorce or finances, but rather “the welfare of the two children of their marriage.” Sheikh Mohammed, 70, has more than 20 children with different wives.