Dubai ruler suspected 'intimate relationship' between estranged wife and British bodyguard

The estranged wife of Dubai's wealthy ruler was suspected by her husband of having "inappropriate contact" with her British bodyguard, according to sources close to the family.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, 69, reportedly found Princess Haya, 45, with the bodyguard during a surprise visit to their £85m ($106.5m) home in London.

Princess Haya, a daughter of Jordan's late ruler King Hussein, reportedly showered the British bodyguard with lavish gifts, sparking criticism and suspicion from other members of the royal family.

Infuriated after discovering the pair together in London, Sheikh Mohammed demanded his wife and the bodyguard return to Dubai, according to sources cited by The Times and Mail Online.

Princess Haya has remained in London, where she is set to fight a legal battle with her husband later this month.

The hearing is expected to focus on who will have custody of their two young children now that the princess has left Dubai. 

The clash between Sheikh Mohammed and Princess Haya is the latest sign of trouble in his extended family. Last year, a daughter of Sheikh Mohammed tried to flee Dubai after appearing in a 40-minute video saying she had been imprisoned on and off for several years and had been abused. Her friends say she was forcibly returned after commandos stormed a boat carrying her off the coast of India when she tried to flee the Emirates.

	Princess Haya reportedly fled Dubai with her two children [Getty]

The sheikh, who is the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates in addition to being the ruler of Dubai, is among the most influential figures in the Middle East. He also composes poetry, a long tradition among Gulf Arabs, and it was his own words that sparked the initial rumours that Haya had fled Dubai.

The talk started after a verified Emirati Instagram account followed by the Dubai ruler's son posted a poem last week attributed to Sheikh Mohammed. The poem, titled "You Lived and You Died," is about disloyalty, leading to speculation it is about Princess Haya.

"You betrayed the most precious trust, and your game has been revealed," the poem says. "Your time of lying is over and it doesn't matter what we were nor what you are."

The harsh words caused reverberations and speculation throughout royal circles in the Middle East and beyond.

The princess and Sheikh Mohammed were married in 2004 and have a daughter, 11, and son, 7, together. Both were educated at elite English universities and they share a love for horses.

Media reports indicate she took the children with her when she left Dubai. Under Islamic law, a woman can at least nominally retain custody of her children in a divorce. Nonetheless, decisions about schooling, travel and lifestyles of the children often remain with the father in the Middle East. Given the Dubai ruler's power, it is unlikely Princess Haya would have had a say in her children's ability to leave the UAE had she not reportedly fled with them.

	Read more: Princess Haya could flee what many UAE women cannot

Haya has long stood out from other wives of Gulf Arab rulers not only because of her Jordanian royal background and Olympic ambitions, but because she was seen and photographed in public. Most rulers' wives in the Gulf are never photographed and their faces and names aren't known to the public. But Princess Haya wasn't only visible at humanitarian events, often seated front row in Dubai by her husband's side, but was a stylish fixture in glossy magazines and at prestigious equestrian events in the UK, like the Royal Ascot and Epsom Derby."

The government of Dubai hasn't commented on the media reports about Princess Haya fleeing with her children to Europe.