Mohamed Al-Fayed, the self-made Egyptian billionaire and former owner of the Harrods department store and the English football club Fulham, and who accused the British royal family of being behind the deaths of his son and Princess Diana, died on 30 August at the age of 94.

Al-Fayed died a day before the 26th anniversary of the death of his eldest son Dodi and Princess Diana in a car crash in Paris. Al-Fayed was buried next to his son. The funeral was held at London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park on Friday.

Born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, Al-Fayed was the son of a school teacher. He began his career selling fizzy drinks, then worked as a sewing machine salesman. 

His big break in business came after he met his first wife Samira Khashoggi, sister of Saudi millionaire Adnan Khashoggi who employed him at his Saudi Arabian import business. The role helped him forge connections in Egypt and to launch his own shipping business before becoming an advisor to one of the world’s richest men, the sultan of Brunei. Al-Fayed built his family fortune in real estate, shipping and construction. 

Al-Fayed moved to Britain in the 1970s and added the ‘Al’ to his name. In 1979, he and his brother Ali bought the Paris Ritz Hotel. 

In 1985 Al-Fayed married the Finnish socialite and former model Heini Wathen with whom he had four children: Jasmine, Karim, Camilla and Omar. 

In the same year and after a long battle with the British businessman Roland “Tiny” Rowland, the brothers succeeded in buying Harrods, one of the most famous shops in the world, hoping to get acceptance in British society. However, the act led to a series of bitter business feuds. A subsequent government investigation into the Harrods bid, officially published in 1990, discovered that Al-Fayed and his brother had been dishonest about their wealth and origins to secure the takeover. Al-Fayed refuted the claims as unfair and the deal was allowed to go through.

Although Britain was Al-Fayed’s home for decades, the British government considered him an outsider and refused his application for citizenship in 1995. The reasons were never released publicly. Al-Fayed said racism kept him on the fringe of acceptance. A year earlier, Al-Fayed fell out with the British government when he revealed to the media that he had made gifts and payments to politicians to ask questions on his behalf in parliament. The so-called “cash-for-questions” scandal ended the careers of four politicians, including one minister.

In 1997, Al-Fayed bought Fulham football club in West London, famously inviting Michael Jackson to watch a game at Craven Cottage. Al-Fayed spent lavishly on coaches and players to improve their performance. It was a success with the club winning promotion to the Premier League in 2001. 

In 2010 and after a quarter of century of ownership, Al-Fayed sold Harrods to Qatar’s Sovereign Wealth Fund although it was once reported that he wanted to remain in the store even after death. He told The Financial Times in 2002 that he wanted to be mummified in a golden sarcophagus in a glass pyramid on the roof of Harrods, “so people can come and visit me”. 

In 2013, Al-Fayed sold Fulham to businessman Shahid Khan. “The story of Fulham cannot be told without a chapter on the positive impact of Fayed as chairman,” Khan said on Friday evening, eulogising Al-Fayed and sending condolences to his family and friends. 

The relationship between Al-Fayed’s son Dodi and Princess Diana began in the summer of 1997. Diana had divorced Prince Charles, the then heir to the British throne. Dodi and Diana were pictured by British tabloids on holiday on a yacht in the south of France. After travelling to Paris, the couple was killed when their car crashed into a concrete pillar in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel.

Unsupported by enough evidence, Al-Fayed accused the British royal family of being behind the deaths. He claimed Princess Diana was bearing Dodi’s child and accused Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, of ordering Britain’s Security Services to kill Diana to stop her from marrying a Muslim.

For nearly a decade, Al-Fayed spent millions on legal battles to ensure there was an inquest. However, the jury concluded the car crash was an accident caused by speeding and by the high alcohol level in the blood of the driver, denying claims that the security services were involved in any way.

Al-Fayed said he accepted the verdict and gave up legal attempts to show they were murdered. “I am leaving the rest for God to get my revenge,” he said.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 7 September, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly