London luxury department store Harrods said on January 13, 2018 it was taking down a statue of the late Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed and returning it to former owner Mohamed Al Fayed. AFP / John D McHugh
London luxury department store Harrods said on January 13, 2018 it was taking down a statue of the late Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed and returning it to former owner Mohamed Al FayedShow more

Harrods’ Qatari owners to remove Diana and Dodi statue



London luxury department store Harrods is removing a statue of the late Princess Diana and her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed, in what is being seen as an attempt by its Qatari owners to entice the British royals back through its doors.

The statue will be returned to the Knightsbridge store’s former owner and father of Dodi, Mohamed Al Fayed, who commissioned the memorial after the couple were killed in a Paris car crash in 1997.

Mr Al Fayed sold Harrods to the Qatari royal family in 2010 for a reported £1.5 billion.

The three-metre high bronze statue, entitled ‘Innocent Victims’, shows Diana and Dodi holding hands and releasing a bird.

The store’s managing director, Michael Ward, said on Saturday that it was now time to return the statue to the Egyptian tycoon, given Diana's sons Princes William and Harry are commissioning their own statue to their mother at Kensington Palace.

But The Telegraph reported that the decision is part of a wider plan by the new Qatari owners to win back the British Royal Family's patronage of the popular central London site.

The royals stopped shopping at the store after Mr Al Fayed, 88, accused the Duke of Edinburgh of masterminding the death of Diana and his son.

Harrods lost its royal warrant in 2000, thanks to a "significant decline in the trading relationship over several years."

It had previously held continuous royal warrants since 1913.

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The Queen had also dropped Harrods as her provider of Christmas puddings in favour of Tesco.

Mr Al Fayed retaliated by ordering all remaining royal warrants to be taken down from the facade of Harrods and burned, describing them as a “curse” on the store.

While the controversial statue remained in place, there had been little chance that Harrods would regain the favour of the British royals.

With its removal, the Qatari royal family are hoping that Harrods can once again become a preferred shopping venue for the royals, according sources cited by The Telegraph.

Mr Ward said “the time was right” to take down the shrine.

“We are very proud to have played our role in celebrating the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Al Fayed at Harrods and to have welcomed people from around the world to visit the memorial for the past 20 years," he said.

"With the announcement of the new official memorial statue to Diana, Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace, we feel that the time is right to return this memorial to Mr Al Fayed and for the public to be invited to pay their respects at the palace."

A spokesman for the Al Fayed family told The Times it was "grateful" to Qatar Holdings for preserving the memorial of the couple, adding: "It is now time to bring them home."

The biog

Name: Salem Alkarbi

Age: 32

Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira

First started supporting Al Wasl: 7

Biggest rival: Al Nasr

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Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

The Old Slave and the Mastiff

Patrick Chamoiseau

Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale

if you go

The flights 

Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning. 

The trains

Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.

The hotels

Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

Gully Boy

Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi​​​​​​​
Rating: 4/5 stars