What happened to Dubai’s ‘runaway princess’, Sheikha Latifa? The UAE royal now seems free to jet-set around the world, new photos show
- Latifa has claimed she was a prisoner of the Dubai royal family while her father says she was kidnapped in 2018 and had to be rescued from a yacht off India
- In 2021, she met with UN high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, to request privacy while shots of her in Iceland and Spain convinced the Free Latifa campaign to disband
For three years, there has been mystery surrounding the whereabouts of Dubai’s Sheikha Latifa after she was captured by the Indian coastguard on a yacht in international waters off India in March 2018.
Some even suggested that 36-year-old Latifa – who told her story in pre-recorded video messages that were released after she left the United Arab Emirates – may not be alive, despite the Dubai government releasing images over time appearing to prove it.
So, what happened to Latifa?
Fears for Latifa after bombshell footage
Footage aired by the BBC in February 2021 showed Latifa saying she was being held captive and feared for her life. The video clip of her crouched over in a bathroom was said to have been recorded a year after her capture.
In 2018, after she was brought back to the UAE, former UN commissioner Mary Robinson visited the compound where she was living and labelled Latifa a “troubled” woman who regretted trying to flee, according to the BBC. She was also told by Latifa’s then-stepmother Princess Haya bint Hussein that the sheikh’s daughter was suffering from bipolar disorder.
The UAE Embassy in London claimed at the time that she was being taken care of in Dubai by her family.