BILLIONAIRE, former owner of Harrods, Mohamed Al Fayed, died at the age of 94.
The Egyptian businessman, the father of Princess Diana’s lover Dodi, was said to have been ill for some time and died on Wednesday.
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Mohamed unveils a monument to his son Dodi and Diana in September 2005. Credit: Reuters
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Princess Diana with Mohamed Al Fayed at a benefit dinner for the Harefield Heart Unit in February 1996 Credit: Getty
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Mohamed Al-Fayed dies aged 94 Credits: PA: Press Association
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King Charles and Princess Diana with Mohammed
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Diana and Dodi pictured together in St Tropez Credit: Big Pictures
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Queen Elizabeth II and Mohammed at the Windsor Horse Show At the Windsor Horse Show Credit: Getty
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Mohamed with his second wife Heini Wathen in June 2016. Credit: Getty
His death comes almost 26 years to the day of the Paris car crash that killed his eldest son and Diana on August 31, 1997.
Prayers were held at Regent’s Park Mosque on Friday, before Al Fayed’s coffin was taken to Barrow Green Court in Oxted, Surrey.
He was buried next to his son Dodi in the family mausoleum on the 226-hectare property.
Dodi was originally buried at Brookwood Cemetery near Woking, Surrey, but was reinterred on the estate in October 1997.
Mohamed made his fortune running several high-profile companies, including the Ritz Hotel in Paris and a long tenure as chairman of Premier League club Fulham.
In a statement released by the club, his family said: “Ms Mohamed Al Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that her beloved husband, their father and their grandfather, Mohamed, passed away peacefully of old age on Wednesday, August 30. , in 2023
“He enjoyed a long and fulfilling retirement surrounded by his loved ones. The family has asked that their privacy be respected at this time.”
It is said that Diana had a special relationship with her lover’s father.
He began sponsoring a number of charities and events over the years – attended by the royal family.
But by 1995, Michael Cole, then director of public relations at Harrods, told Vanity Fair: “Diana gets along so easily with Mohamed…Mohamed is not one of those people who is overwhelmed by her.
“They spark off each other really well.”
Then, in the summer of 1997, Mohamed invited Princess Di, along with Prince William and Prince Harry, to join his family on their yacht Jonikal.
It was on this trip that Diana and Dodi became closer, before their tragic deaths in 1997.
Mohamed believed the couple were just hours away from announcing their engagement.
Twenty years after their deaths in 2017, a friend told The Sun that Mohamed continued to make outlandish claims that they had been killed by security services.
His claims led to Harrods being stripped of four royal warrants – the right to declare that the company supplies goods as agreed with the royal family.
In a statement on Friday evening, the club said: “
A club statement said: “Everyone at Fulham was incredibly saddened to learn of the death of our former owner and chairman, Mohamed Al Fayed.
“We owe Mohamed a debt of gratitude for what he has done for our club and our thoughts are now with his family and friends at this dark time.”
His successor as chairman Shahid Khan also said: “On behalf of everyone at Fulham Football Club, I send my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mohamed Al Fayed following the news of his death at the age of 94.
“The story of Fulham cannot be told without a chapter on the positive influence of Mr Al Fayed as chairman.
“His legacy will be remembered for our promotion to the Premier League, the Europa League final and the moments of magic from the players and the team.
He added: “I always enjoyed my time with Mr Al Fayed, who was wise, colorful and committed to Fulham, and I am forever grateful for his confidence in me succeeding him as chairman in 2013.
“I join our fans around the world in commemorating Mohamed Al Fayed, whose legacy will always be at the heart of our tradition at Fulham Football Club.”
Piers Morgan also took to social media, saying: “RIP Mohamed Al-Fayed, 94. A remarkable tour de force of a man who never got over the death of his beloved son Dodi in the crash that also killed Diana.
“Mohammed was not to everyone’s taste and he was a flawed, complex character, but I liked him.”
Born in 1929, Mohamed grew up in the Egyptian city of Alexandria.
He married Samira Khashoggi in 1954 and worked for her arms dealer brother Adnan Khashoggi, before starting a successful shipping company in Egypt.
A year later, Dodi was born.
Mohamed then moved to work as a financial adviser to the Sultan of Brunei in 1966, before arriving in Britain in 1974.
Five years later, the businessman bought the Ritz Hotel in Paris, before he and his brother Ali bought a 30 percent stake in House of Fraser.
This included the famous Knightsbridge department store Harrods, which they bought outright for £615m.
In 1985, he married his second wife, Finnish model and actress Heini Wathem, with whom he had four children.
Mohamed has five children – one with Samira from his first marriage and four with Heini.
They are Dodi, Camilla, Omar, Jasmine and Karim.
Al-Fayed sold the famous store in 2010 for £1.5bn to Qatari Holdings, the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund.
He also sold Fulham to Pakistani-born entrepreneur Shahid Khan in a deal valued at £150m to £200m in July 2013.
Mohamed’s time as president included the commissioning of a statue of Michael Jackson in 2009.
The monument was initially displayed outside Craven Cottage but was widely mocked by away fans before new owner Shahid Khan ordered it removed.
His removal coincided with the club’s relegation from the Premier League in 2014.
At the time, Mohamed complained: “This statue was a charm and we removed the happiness from the club and now we have to pay the price”.
He was friends with the singer, who spent mega-money during a trip to Harrods.
Speaking at the time of the sale in 2013, Mohamed said: “My time as a custodian of Fulham Football Club will one day come to an end and I feel that time has now come.
“The time is right because in Shahid Khan I have found a very good man who will accept the responsibility and the privilege I have enjoyed at Fulham since 1997.”
Mohamed is believed to have amassed a fortune of £1.3bn, according to Forbes.
His Al Fayed Foundation, established in 1987, aims to help children with difficulties in life and living in poverty.
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Mohamed and his son Dodi taken together in 1988. Credit: Rex
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Mohamed with then Fulham manager Mark Hughes in August 2010 Credit: PA: Press Association
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Diana and Mohamed at Guards Polo Club in July 1987. Credit: Rex
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Mohamed at the Issa show during London Fashion Week Spring Summer 2015. Credit: Getty
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An exterior view of the Harrods department store once owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed Credit: AP: Associated Press
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