Mohamed al-Fayed, former Harrods owner whose son died with Princess Diana, dies at 94

LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Mohamed al-Fayed, the Egyptian billionaire who bought Harrods department store and promoted the discredited conspiracy theory that the British royal family was behind the deaths of his son and Princess Diana, has died. . his family said.

Born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, al-Fayed began his career selling soft drinks and later worked as a sewing machine salesman. He built his family’s fortune in real estate, shipping and construction, first in the Middle East and then in Europe.

Although al-Fayed owned such establishment symbols as Harrods, Fulham and the Ritz hotel in Paris, he was always an outsider in Britain, tolerated but not accepted.

He fell out with the British government over its refusal to grant him citizenship in the country that was his home for decades and often threatened to move to France, which awarded him the Legion of Honor, its highest civilian decoration.

Al-Fayed, who could be charming, autocratic, vengeful and at times downright outspoken, spent 10 years trying to prove that Diana and her son Dodi were murdered when their car crashed in a Paris tunnel in 1997 while trying to escape from the police. paparazzi. Motorcycle photographers.

Without the support of any evidence, according to the inquest into Diana’s death, he claimed that she was pregnant by Dodi and accused Prince Philip, the queen’s husband, of ordering British security services to kill her to prevent her from being found. married a Muslim and had a baby.

Al-Fayed died on Wednesday, his family said, a day before the 26th anniversary of Dodi and Diana’s deaths.

“Ms. Mohamed Al Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that her loving husband, father and grandfather, Mohamed, have passed away peacefully of old age,” the family statement read.

While al-Fayed was known for his self-invention, exaggeration and boastfulness, he was also a central figure at key moments in Britain’s recent history.

His spiteful takeover of Harrods in 1985 sparked one of Britain’s most bitter business disputes, while in 1994 he caused a scandal by revealing that he had paid politicians to ask questions in parliament on his behalf.

Like many billionaires, al-Fayed despised convention. He once said that he wanted to be mummified in a golden sarcophagus in a glass pyramid on the roof of Harrods.

At the store, where he instituted a dress code — including for customers — that he enforced in person, he installed a kitschy bronze memorial statue of Diana and Dodi dancing under the wings of an albatross.

As the owner of Fulham, he erected a huge sequined statue of Michael Jackson outside the stadium, despite the singer only attending one game. When people complained, he would say, “If some stupid fans don’t understand or appreciate such a gift, they can go to hell.”

HARRODS ACQUISITION

Much of al-Fayed’s past remained unclear, including his date of birth. He said he was born in 1933 in then British-ruled Egypt. However, a British government inquiry into the Harrods takeover said 1929.

Al-Fayed became a resident of Great Britain in 1974 and added the al to his name. Considering this self-aggrandizement, the satirical magazine Private Eye dubbed him the “false pharaoh”.

In 1985, he and his brothers beat businessman Roland “Tiny” Rowland to Harrods, one of the most famous stores in the world.

Al-Fayed hoped that buying the store would gain him acceptance in British society. Rather, he led to a series of bitter confrontations.

Rowland brought al-Fayed and his brothers to a Commerce Department investigation, claiming they had misrepresented his wealth.

The investigation cast doubt on his origins as part of a wealthy business family, his past business connections and his independent financial resources.

After a quarter century of ownership, al-Fayed sold Harrods to the Qatari sovereign wealth fund in 2010.

Al-Fayed’s application for British citizenship was denied by the government in 1995. He said racism kept him out of acceptability.

A year earlier, al-Fayed had embarrassed the government by revealing that he had given gifts and payments to politicians in exchange for asking parliamentary questions on his behalf. The so-called “money for questions” scandal ended the careers of four politicians, including a minister.

Accusations of sleaze undermined the Conservatives, who lost a landslide election to Labor leader Tony Blair in 1997.

DIANA AND DODI

That summer, al-Fayed’s son, Dodi, began a relationship with Princess Diana, who had divorced Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne. Dodi and Diana were photographed by the British tabloids holidaying on a yacht in the south of France.

After traveling to Paris, the couple died when their Mercedes, driven at high speed by a chauffeur who had been drinking whiskey and trying to evade the paparazzi, crashed into a concrete pillar in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel.

Plagued by grief and an overwhelming sense of injustice, al-Fayed spent millions in legal battles to ensure there was an investigation.

When it began in London a decade after the accident, al-Fayed would go on to indict all members of the royal family, Prime Minister Blair, Diana’s sister Sarah, the French embalmers of Diana’s body and ambulance drivers. of Paris to be involved.

But the jury said the couple was unlawfully killed while their chauffeur was driving. Al-Fayed said he accepted the verdict and abandoned legal attempts to prove they were killed.

“I leave the rest for God to take revenge,” he said.

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