Businessman Mohamed Al Fayed, whose son Dodi was killed alongside Diana, Princess of Wales, has died at the age of 94 — one day after the 26th anniversary of Diana and Dodi's fatal car accident.
In a statement released, his family said: "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.
"He enjoyed a long and fulfilled retirement surrounded by his loved ones. The family have asked for their privacy to be respected at this time."
His funeral service was held on Friday September 1 at London Central Mosque in Regents Park, following Islamic convention to bury the dead as soon as possible after passing.
© David LodgeBorn in Egypt, Mohamed built his empire in the United Kingdom, his adopted country. He has remained out of the spotlight in recent years, living in Surrey with his wife Heini.
Their son Dodi was killed on August 31 1997 with Princess Diana in France. Mohammed had always questioned the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
In the months following the accident, he publicly accused the Queen’s husband Prince Philip of ordering security services to kill the couple in order to stop the princess marrying a Muslim and having his child. In 2008 he accepted the verdict of a jury that the two had been unlawfully killed by grossly negligent driving.
© Tim GrahamThe businessman moved to the UK in the mid-1960s; he was married to Samira Khashoggi, the mother of Dodi, from 1954 to 1956 but married Finnish model and socialite Heini Wathén, with whom he has four children - Jasmine, Karim, Camilla and Omar - in 1985.
In 1979, he bought The Ritz hotel in Paris, and by 1985 he and his brothers had also purchased British brand House of Fraser, which included the famous London department store Harrods. He sold the store in 2010 for $1.8billion (£1.5million).
Mohamed also purchased English soccer club Fulham FC in 1997 for $8million (£6.5 million); he sold it in 2013 to businessman Shahid Khan, who owns the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars for a deal reported to be between $175million and $220milliom (£150million and £200million.)
© David M. BenettHe began to build a close bond with the royals, including Queen Elizabeth II, in the 1980s and it was Mohamed who was unexpected matchmaker behind the blossoming romance between Dodi, 42, and Diana, 36, in the summer of 1997.
He had invited the Princess and her two young sons, Prince William, then 15, and Prince Harry, then 13, to holiday on his yacht in the south of France - and it was there that the royal is believed to have grown close to his son.
© Michel DufourDodi and Diana both died following injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris on August 31 1997 after leaving Mohamed’s Ritz hotel in Paris.
Both of her sons have spoken publicly about the tragic death of their mother; Prince Harry opened up about his mother's death most recently in his documentary Heart of Invictus, which was released on Netflix a day before the anniversary of her passing.
© Aaron RapoportIn the moving documentary, he revealed that his experience serving in Afghanistan triggered trauma that he had not yet previously dealt with, because he "suppressed" all of his emotions.
Talking to the camera, the Duke said: "I can only speak from my personal experience. My tour of Afghanistan in 2012 flying Apaches, somewhere after that there was an unravelling, and the trigger to me was actually returning from Afghanistan but the stuff that was coming up was from 1997, from the age of 12."
© Getty"Losing my mum at such a young age, the trauma that I had, I was never really aware of," he added.
"It was never discussed, I didn’t really talk about it, and I’ve suppressed it like most youngsters would have done. But then when it all came fizzing out, I was bouncing off the walls. I was like, 'What is going on here?' I was feeling everything rather than being numb."
© Michel Dufour"I was in Balmoral when I was told that my mother had died. Still in shock, I found sanctuary in the service at Crathie Kirk that very morning," Prince William shared two years ago in a speech.
"And in the dark days of grief that followed, I found comfort and solace in the Scottish outdoors. As a result, the connection I feel to Scotland will forever run deep."
