Hot gossip

Did you know that Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005, was addicted to methadone?

I get this (I admit it, pretty stale) gossip from the recent judgment of the High Court in Harb v HRH Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz. Here are a few of key paragraphs:

"34. Mrs Harb was born in Ramallah in Palestine in 1947. Her family was Christian. In 1967 she went to work in Jeddah, where she was employed as a secretary by a businessman called Ali Abdul Bugshan.

35. In December 1967 she met Prince Fahd, as he then was, at a party in Jeddah. She was then 19. He was 47 (or 46 if the date of birth given for him by the Prince is correct) and was the Minister of the Interior. Their relationship developed quickly and they were secretly married in Jeddah in March 1968. Shortly before the ceremony, Mrs Harb converted to Islam. The marriage was not made public in Saudi Arabia for cultural and political reasons. After the marriage, the couple divided their time between Jeddah and London. In London, the King introduced Mrs Harb to friends and acquaintances as his wife. During the course of their relationship, Mrs Harb had three abortions at the King's insistence.

36. When Mrs Harb and the King were visiting London in October 1968, he suffered from stomach pains and a doctor administered a methadone injection. This led to the King becoming addicted to methadone.

37. In January 1969 she introduced the King to Mr Bugshan. Subsequently Mr Bugshan was awarded a very profitable government contract. The King received a commission from this and subsequent contracts. In return, the King told Mrs Harb he would give her 50 million riyals (equivalent to at least £6 million) which he would look after for her.

38. In 1970 Mrs Harb was ordered to leave Saudi Arabia by the King's brother Prince Turki as a result of the King's family (wrongly) attributing to Mrs Harb responsibility for the King's addiction. She went first to Beirut and then to the USA. The King told her not to worry about money and that he would continue to support her financially."

There is plenty more along similar lines at the link.