Harrods and the Nationality Battle
Al-Masry Al-Youm, Egypt, September 8
The British satirical magazine Private Eye gave Mohamed Al-Fayed the title “the Fake Pharaoh” in an attempt to cast doubt on his reputation in Britain. This ultimately set the tone for the tenuous relationship between Al-Fayed and the British government that existed throughout his life. In 1979, Al-Fayed and his brother bought the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Six years later, they acquired the most important holdings of their commercial empire: the luxury Harrods department stores in London. This came after an intense battle with British businessman Roland Rowland. Prompted by Rowland’s team, the British government conducted an investigation to probe Al-Fayed’s wealth and assets, and its findings were ultimately published in 1990. The results confirmed that Al-Fayed and his brother had indeed manipulated their resources to gain control of Harrods. The two brothers contested the findings and, after five years, the authorities declined Al-Fayed’s initial petition to acquire British citizenship. Mohamed Al-Fayed saw the refusal to grant him British citizenship as an affront to his honor. Incensed, he asked, “Why don’t they give me a British passport? I own Harrods and employ thousands of people in this country.” Determined to attain citizenship, Al-Fayed accused two Conservative ministers—Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith—of taking monetary bribes in return for advocating for his interests in the House of Commons. The scandalous downfall of the two ministers as a result of the allegations made by Mohamed Al-Fayed echoed similarly to that of Jonathan Aitken after Al-Fayed divulged that Aitken had stayed for free at the Ritz Hotel in Paris amid a meeting of arms dealers. More distressingly, Aitken was sentenced to prison after delivering false evidence in court. Al-Fayed’s long, difficult struggle with the Conservative Party saw him gain victory as well as suffer defeat. 1997 saw him purchase the Fulham Football Club, lifting it up from the shadows of the lower league to a secure spot in the Premier League. At the time, his strife was not yet with the monarchy, given his interests-oriented relationship with them; he sponsored horse racing events, for instance. Things took a turn, however, when Al-Fayed’s son, Dodi, began a relationship with Princess Diana, the wife of the future King Charles. This moment changed not only Al-Fayed’s life but the fate of his entire family. —Abdel Latif El Menawy (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)
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