Who was Mohamed Al-Fayed and who is his wife Heini Wathén?
MOHAMED AL-FAYED was best known as the owner of luxury department store Harrods and father of Princess Diana’s boyfriend Dodi Al-Fayed.
The billionaire died in August 2023 at the age of 94, almost 26 years to the day after the passing of his son.
Who is Mohamed Al-Fayed’s wife Heini Wathén?
Heini Wathén is a socialite and former model from Finland.
She married Mohamed Al-Fayed in 1985 and the couple went on to have four children together; Jasmine, Karim, Camilla and Omar.
Heini and Mohamed’s romance began after they were introduced by Mohamed’s son Dodi.
The couple are portrayed by Hanna Alström and Salim Daw in the sixth and final season of Netflix‘s The Crown.
Who are Mohamed Al-Fayed’s children?
Before marrying Heini, Mohamed had been wed once before.
In 1954 he tied the knot with Saudi Arabian author Samira Khashoggi.
The pair split after two years but welcomed son Dodi together in 1955.
Dodi is Samira and Mohamed’s only child, but Mohamed went on to have four more kids with his second wife.
Where did Mohamed Al-Fayed live?
Prior to his death, Mohamed lived in a house near Oxted with his wife Heini.
The family estate in Surrey, named Barrow Green Court, is where both Mohamed and his son Dodi are buried.
Who was Mohamed Al-Fayed’s butler Sydney Johnson?
The relationship between Mohamed and his butler Sydney Johnson was portrayed in the fifth season of The Crown.
Johnson worked as a personal valet and footman to the late Duke of Windsor, Edward VIII, after his abdication before being hired by Mohamed.
According to The Crown, Mohamed and Sydney had a very close friendship, though it’s not known if their real relationship was as close as shown on TV.
Johnson died in Paris in 1990 and, after his death, Mohamed is quoted as calling his late butler “truly a gentlemen’s gentleman,” adding that he would “miss him very much”.
How did Princess Diana and Mohamed Al-Fayed know each other?
Shortly before her death in 1997, Princess Diana became romantically involved with Mohamed’s son Dodi Al-Fayed.
The couple had a highly-publicised relationship over the summer of 1997 before both were tragically killed in a car crash in Paris along with their driver Henri Paul.
Mohamed is said to have been a huge supporter of his son’s relationship with Diana and believed the pair were set to marry before their deaths.
A close friend told The Sun in 2017: “Mohamed believes they were in love and were going to announce their engagement in London the day after the tragedy.
“He will never get over the death of his son, or that of the Princess — because of the love he had for both”.
What was Mohamed Al-Fayed’s net worth and how did he make his money?
Prior to his death, Mohamed was reported to have a net worth of £1.3 billion, according to Forbes.
Mohamed once worked for his first wife Samira’s arms dealer brother Adnan Khashoggi, before launching a successful successful shipping company in Egypt.
He moved on to work as a financial adviser to the Sultan of Brunei in 1966 and moved to the UK eight years later.
In 1979, the businessman bought the Ritz Hotel in Paris and five years after that he and his brother Ali purchased a 30 per cent stake in House of Fraser.
This included the famous Knightsbridge store Harrods, which they went on to fully acquire for £615m.
The mogul purchased Fulham FC for £6.25 million in 1997.
In 1987 Mohamed set up his Al-Fayed Foundation which aims to help children with life-limiting conditions and living in poverty.
At the time of his death, Mohamed had sold both Harrods and Fulham FC.
What was Mohamed Al-Fayed’s cause of death?
Mohamed died on August 30, 2023, at the age of 94.
His passing was announced on September 1 with the cause of death listed as old age.
His family released a statement at the time which read: “Mrs Mohamed Al Fayed, her children and grandchildren wish to confirm that her beloved husband, their father and their grandfather, Mohamed, has passed away peacefully of old age on Wednesday August 30, 2023”.