In one of the most costly divorce settlements in British history, a British court ordered the ruler of Dubai to pay his ex-wife and their children over 550 million pounds ($730 million). 

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum must pay 251.5 million pounds to his sixth wife, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, in the United Kingdom, as well as make continuous payments for their daughters Jalila, 14, and Zayed, 9, according to a High Court judge.

Depending on conditions such as how long the children live and whether they reunite with their father, the total sum the children get could be more or less than 290 million pounds. The settlement includes an annual payment of 11 million pounds to cover Princess Haya's and the children's security expenditures while they remain minors. 

Judge Philip Moor stated the family needed "watertight security" and that "absolutely singularly," the biggest threat to them came from Sheikh Mohammed, not from outside sources, in a November judgement that was made public Tuesday. 

Ms Haya, 47, escaped to the United Kingdom in 2019 and petitioned the British courts for custody of her two children. The princess, who is the daughter of Jordan's late King Hussein, said she was "terrified" of her husband, who is accused of forcing the return of two of his daughters to the Gulf emirate.

Personal and financial data about the powerful but publicity-shy Gulf royals, who are among the world's wealthiest individuals, have been revealed as a result of a long battle in Britain's family courts. Sheikh Mohammed, 72, is a significant horse breeder as well as the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a part. He is on friendly terms with Queen Elizabeth II, as the creator of the successful Godolphin horse-racing establishment. 

Haya, an Oxford University graduate, is also an accomplished equestrian who represented Jordan in show jumping in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Princess Haya said in court that she paid 6.7 million pounds to four of her security guards who blackmailed her over an affair with a bodyguard, selling jewellery and withdrawing money from her daughter's bank account to collect the money.

When Sheikh Mohammed found out about the affair, he wrote a poem called "You Lived; You Died," which Princess Haya mistook for a threat. During their legal battle, a different British family court judge concluded in October that Sheikh Mohammed had allowed the hacking of Princess Haya's phone. 

According to Judge Andrew McFarlane, the sheikh granted his "explicit or implicit authorisation" to hack the phones of the princess and her lawyers using Pegasus spyware from Israel's NSO Group. Exclusively for use by national security services, the software is licenced to nation governments. Sheikh Mohammed has denied any involvement in the hacking. 

Sheikh Mohammed "directed and coordinated" the abduction and forced return to Dubai of two of his adult daughters, Sheikha Shamsa in August 2000 and her sister, Sheikha Latifa, in 2002 and again in 2018.

The divorce bill dwarfs Tatiana Akhmedova's 450 million pound settlement with Russian billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov in 2016, which was dubbed "Britain's most expensive divorce" at the time. 

A 5.1 million pound holiday budget, an annual payout of just over 450,000 pound for the children's staff, and roughly 275,000 pound for their animals, which include two ponies and a horse, are all included in the settlement. Princess Haya was granted millions to compensate for goods lost when she left Dubai, including 13.5 million pounds for jewellery and 1 million pounds for clothing, which the judge described as "quite modest." 

Financial divorce agreements in England can be contested, but that's uncommon.

Sheikh Mohammed's spokesman stated in a statement that the ruler "has always ensured the well-being of his children." He would not comment further because the court has reached its financial decision."