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Breaking News<\/span><\/p>\nHugh Hudson Dies: Oscar-Nominated 'Chariots Of Fire' Director Was 86<\/h3>\n<\/article>\n
Mohammad Al-Fayed’s role in that pairing and his own friendship with Diana was extensively covered in the most recent season of the Netflix series on the Royal Family, The Crown.<\/em> It also lends an eerie tinge to his death, which comes so close to the anniversary of the fatal crash that claimed Dodi and Diana.<\/p>\n In the years following the crash, Al-Fayed weathered criticism in the UK for claiming that the accident was a murder ordered by the Royal Family and British Intelligence, who acted because the couple was to be married. The crash, allegedly caused by a high-speed attempt to avoid paparazzi, was extensively investigated without any evidence of Al-Fayed’s allegations. <\/p>\n Al-Fayed forged a close relationship with the late Princess of Wales as they were involved with the same charities and attended similar events.<\/p>\n Statements from Al-Fayed’s business properties followed the announcement of his death. <\/p>\n “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 did for our Club, and our thoughts now are with his family and friends at this sombre time,” said Fulham FC in a statement on social media.<\/p>\n The Egyptian tycoon sold the football club in 2013, shortly after selling Harrods in 2010. He bought the near-bankrupt The Ritz Hotel in Paris for $30 million, investing $250 million in renovations on the property. <\/p>\n Al-Fayed was born in 1929 in Roshdy, a neighborhood in Alexandria in the Kingdom of Egypt, as it was called before the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. He added the fancy prefix “Al” to his surname in the 1970s.<\/p>\n Before buying Harrods, he owned a shipping company in Egypt, eventually opening a London office. <\/p>\n While Al-Fayed was involved in his international businesses, his son Dodi was exploring Hollywood. <\/p>\n In 1979, Al-Fayed set up a film production company, Allied Stars Ltd., appointing his son, Dodi, as the chief executive.<\/p>\n The son’s venture resulted in seven Academy Awards in 1982 for :Chariots of Fire,” including Best Picture. The rest of the company’s output did not fare as well at the box office.<\/p>\n Al-Fayed was married twice: first to Saudi Arabian author Samira Khashoggi from 1953 to 1956, with whom he had Dodi.<\/p>\n In 1985, he married Finnish socialite and former model Heini Wathén, with whom he had another four children: Jasmine, Karim, Camilla, and Omar.<\/p>\n A funeral service was held at London Central Mosque in Regents Park on Friday, following Islamic conventions to bury the dead as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours.<\/p>\n He was then interred at Barrow Green Court, his 17th century country pile, in Oxted, Surrey, at the family mausoleum, next to son, Dodi. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Screenshot-2021-05-20-at-07.12.10-e1621492858699.png\")
Breaking News<\/span><\/p>\n'Harry & Meghan' Reopens Panorama Interview Wounds After Prince Claims Diana Was "Speaking The Truth Of Her Experience"<\/h3>\n<\/article>\n
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