Maha bint Mohammed Al Sudairi
NationalitySaudi Arabian
SpouseNayef bin Abdulaziz (div.)
Children5
Parent
  • Mohammed bin Ahmad Al Sudairi (father)

Maha bint Mohammed Al Sudairi is the former wife of Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.[1]

Personal life

Maha was the cousin and third wife of Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, with whom she had five children:[1] Nouf, Nawwaf, Mishail, Hayfa and Fahd.[2] One of her daughters, Nouf bint Nayef (born 1984),[3][4] is the wife of Mohammad bin Abdullah, the son of Prince Nayef's half-brother King Abdullah.[5][6] Maha's son Nawwaf was detained along with his older half-brother Mohammed bin Nayef and his uncle Ahmed bin Abdulaziz in early March 2020.[7] In August 2020 although not announced officially some Twitter accounts reported that Prince Nawwaf was released.[8]

Controversy

Princess Maha acquired a luxurious property in Sweetwater Club Blvd., known as "Millionaires Row" in Sweetwater Club, Seminole County, Florida, for $2 million, and she spent another $4 million on improvements, including having a guesthouse and prayer chapel constructed. The house was fitted with an elaborate security system and an arsenal.[9] She made news in 1995 when she became embroiled in a scandal for beating a servant who was suspected of stealing $200,000 in cash and jewellery from her.[9][10] The servant would not press charges, but the princess abandoned her multimillion-dollar property with the windows open to the elements and never returned to the country.[9]

In 2009, Princess Maha spent $20 million during an epic shopping spree in high-end Parisian boutiques, habitually walking out of the door after staff had been given an embossed card marked "Payment to Follow".[1] She lived in various top hotels in Paris, including the Hôtel de Crillon, which remained a long-time creditor; she then moved to the luxury Four Seasons Hotel George V owned by Prince Nayef's nephew, Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.[11] Shops she patronised report that her payment history had always been excellent, but that her staff started shrugging off payment all of a sudden.[11][1] She has since been pursued by some 30 Parisian retailers for 15 million Euro worth of merchandise.[12] Casualwear retailer Key Largo finally secured payment after obtaining a court order to seize goods from her Georges V hotel suite. Bailiffs were met by the Saudi consul, who issued a guaranteed payment for $125,000 in the presence of a chief of police.[13][11] Those debts were said to have been eventually settled through the Saudi embassy.[1] The negative publicity of her Parisian stay incurred the wrath of King Abdullah, who grounded her on her return from Paris. Nevertheless, she once again escaped back to Paris from Saudi Arabia in December 2011.[1]

Media reported that Princess Maha and her entourage, occupying 41 rooms at the Shangri-La Hotel in the 16th Arrondissement in Paris where they had been staying since 23 December 2011, tried to sneak out of the hotel at 3:30 am of 31 May 2012 without paying the $7 million bill. Police were called, but Princess Maha claimed diplomatic immunity. In the meantime pending resolution, she decamped to the Royal Monceau Hotel owned by her friend Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar.[1] In March 2013, creditors obtained a court order from a judge in Nanterre, and two storage units containing Princess Maha's purchases from 2012 were seized, to be auctioned off to satisfy creditors. Maha was barred from leaving Saudi Arabia after the latest spending spree.[1]

In early 2018, Maha and her daughter Nouf were sued by an Eritrean nanny over allegations of, among other things, human trafficking and involuntary servitude,[14] both in Saudi Arabia and in the US state of Virginia.[15] However these claims were found to be false, and the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in August 2022.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 James Reginato (2 April 2015). "The Saudi Princess and the Multi-Million Dollar Shopping Spree". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  2. ↑ Karen Hedwig Backman (16 June 2012). "Born of Hassa bint Ahmad al Sudairi". Daily Kos. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  3. ↑ "Nouf bint Nayef bin Abdulaziz". Companies House. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  4. ↑ Sharaf Sabri (2001). The House of Saud in Commerce: A Study of Royal Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. Sharaf Sabri. p. 137. ISBN 978-81-901254-0-6.
  5. ↑ Brandi Buchman (27 February 2018). "Nanny to Saudi Royals Claims They Forced Her into Slavery". Courthouse News Service. Alexandria, Virginia. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "Second Amended Complaint" (PDF). Cohen Milstein. 27 September 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "Reuters: King Salman approved arrest of senior royals". Middle East Monitor. Reuters. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "أنباء عن إطلاق سراح أمير سعودي معتقل". Arabi 21. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 "Tampabay: Remaking royal home takes a princely effort". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. 30 May 2005.
  10. ↑ "Saudi princess charged". Herald Sun. Orlando. 19 December 2001. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 Peter Walker (11 June 2009). "Saudi princess and (unpaid) €70,000 lingerie bill". The Guardian.
  12. ↑ "A Story of the Wildest Shopping Spree in History". New York. April 2015.
  13. ↑ "Saudi pays up in Paris shop row". BBC. 12 June 2009.
  14. 1 2 "Case Against Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Saud and Princess Nouf bint Nayef Abdul-Aziz al-Saud Dismissed with Prejudice: Holland & Knight Attorney". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). 16 August 2022.
  15. ↑ "Saudi royals, a mansion in a quiet D.C. suburb — and allegations of mistreating a servant". Washington Post. 7 September 2018.
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