The wife of the Dubai ruler paid her bodyguard more than $1 million to stay quiet about their affair.
Princess Haya, Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum’s sixth and youngest wife, showered her British lover Russell Flowers with luxury gifts including a vintage shotgun and a $15,000 watch, Mail Online reported.
Their affair was raised during a court hearing against her husband and she won custody of their children.
The High Court hearing also crushed Flowers’ four-year marriage as it left his wife was left devastated.
His former wife reportedly told her friends that Flowers had been seduced by the princess with extravagant presents.
“Russell’s wife believed he was seduced by the money and gifts. She gave him lots of expensive gifts and made sure that he was always by her side,” a friend of the wife said to Mail Online.
“On overseas trips the princess would always insist that they have connecting rooms. When she was in the UK she would be out with him almost every night and sometimes they did not return home until the following morning.
“I was told Russell had his head turned and went from a loving husband to someone his wife did not recognize.”
Flowers started working for Princess Haya in 2016. He was given a Rolex and then an Audemars Piguet.
The family friend continued: “His wife noticed that calls and messages started to come in every night after he got home from work.
“She was told it was about security, but the messaging would go on for hours. Sometimes the princess would put her son on the phone but it did arouse some suspicion.”
More gifts arrived, including a personalized number plate with ‘RU55ELLS’ and a hand-crafted humidor containing thousands of pounds worth of cigars.
“The family were always generous to their bodyguards. The sheikh would often pay out between £5,000 and £15,000 as a tip. But the gifts Russell received were far above that,” the friend added.
The wife’s suspicions were confirmed after her husband received Haya’s photos in a swimming costume and other selfies.
“I know her heart just sank when she saw the photos and she knew her husband was having an affair. There was no big confrontation but a few months later he turned round to his wife and told her he didn’t love her anymore,” the friend continued.
“She wanted to fight for her marriage and did not believe it was over and just a phase that her husband was going through. Her husband denied anything was going on with the princess.”
“The final evidence came when she found a pack of condoms in his washbag. She told me he denied any affair, but she wasn’t stupid and knew what was going on.”
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Replaced!