Mohamed Al Fayed, the self-made billionaire whose son Dodi Al Fayed was killed in a car crash alongside Princess Diana, has died at the age of 94. Incidentally, his death comes just a day after the 26th anniversary of couple's death in the Paris crash.
Al Fayed had a close friendship with Diana before she met Dodi. He funded her charity works and supported her during her divorce with Prince Charles (now King Charles III). Diana and Dodi's romance gained traction when Al Fayed invited both of them to join him on a yacht trip. This holiday ended with the tragic crash in the French capital.
Denial of British passport
The Egyptian tycoon, who was the owner of Harrods department store, Fulham FC and the Paris Ritz hotel, moved to the UK in the 1970s but was never able to get a British passport. He fell out with the British government over denial of his citizenship after he did not pass the "good character" test required by the country's Home Office. He had even threatened to move to France, where he was conferred with its highest civilian award, Légion d'honneur.
Murder claims
Al Fayed spent a decade trying to prove Diana and his son Dodi were murdered after being chased by paparazzi photographers on motorbikes in Paris when their car crashed in 1997. He had alleged that she was bearing Dodi's child and accused Prince Philip, the queen's husband, of ordering Britain's security services to kill her to stop her marrying a Muslim and having his baby.
'Cash-for-questions' scandal
In 1994, Al Fayed made headlines when he revealed that he had paid and gave gifts to politicians in return for them asking questions for him in the Parliament, much to the embarrassment of the British government. The so-called "cash-for-questions" row put an end to the careers of four politicians, one of whom was a minister. Following this, the Conservatives lost a landslide election to the Labour Party, following which Tony Blair became the premier in 1997.
Sexual assault allegations
Several former Harrods employees alleged that Al Fayed groped and kissed them and even stuffed cash in their bra. He refuted the allegations that were made in ITV's The Big Story.
In 2008, he was also accused of assaulting a minor girl. A decade later, the woman told Channel 4's Dispatches that Al Fayed gave her gifts after hiring her, following which he allegedly tried to force himself on her. A court dropped the case over conflicting and not sufficiently reliable evidence.
Another woman filed a lawsuit against Al Fayed over sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination. His lawyers made her an offer of £60,000, which she accepted.