Emirati Princess Latifa has shared footage of a stray kitten being mauled by her tigers before the cat was saved from the enclosure and adopted by her.
Latifa, 35, tried to escape the UAE by yacht in March 2018 before being hauled back to the kingdom by her father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the horse race-loving friend of the Royal Family.
The princess sparked international concern earlier this year after footage emerged of her claiming she was being held ‘hostage’ at the palace.
The princess has since settled back into life in Dubai and on Friday shared footage to her Instagram showing three of the royal family’s tigers toying with a helpless kitten.
Two animal keepers rush out to try and save the cat but one of the tigers picks it up in its jaws and runs away. Footage shows the white tiger standing inside his pen with the kitten flailing helplessly in its mouth.
Fortunately the animal keepers were able to save the cat and Latifa said: ‘She’s doing well now and won’t be a little stray anymore.’
Latfia, 35, tried to escape the UAE by yacht in March 2018 before being hauled back to the kingdom by her father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the horse race-loving friend of the Royal Family. She has since settled back into life in
One of the princess’ white tigers with the stray cat between its teeth, left, and surrounded by the beasts, right
Footage shows the white tiger standing inside his pen with the kitten flailing helplessly in its mouth
The kitten after being saved, left, and adopted by the princess, right
Sheikh Mohammed and his ex-wife Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein pictured with the Queen at Ascot
The Emirati royal, who described herself as an ‘animal lover,’ shared further images of the cat after he had been cleaned up, revealing the animal has a stunning pair of eyes – with one blue and one brown – a condition known as heterochromia.
Latifa posts regularly to the Instagram account, including pictures of her father, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, 72, with loving captions.
The posts are in stark contrast to stunning claims that she was being held ‘hostage’ by the Sheikh and was in fear of her life after her failed bid to escape.
The Sheikh has faced similarly damaging allegations from his sixth wife Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, 47, who fled to London in 2019.
The pair, who married in 2004, are involved in a bitter custody dispute over their children at the High Court in the British capital.
A senior UK judge has ruled that Sheikh Mohammed orchestrated a ‘campaign of fear and intimidation’ against his wife and the divorce payout is expected to be the biggest in British legal history.
The high-profile case has reportedly forced Queen Elizabeth to distance herself from the Sheikh, who has previously been hosted at the royal box at Ascot.
British police last month said they were probing claims that the sheikh had used Pegasus hacking software to target his ex-wife during their custody battle.
Earlier this year, Amnesty International claimed that the Israeli-made Pegasus software was used against Latifa after her escape attempt.
Sheikh Mohammed has denied any knowledge of the Pegasus hacking and his lawyers suggested another country like Jordan could be responsible in efforts to embarrass him.
Pictured: The Queen attends an unveiling of a design For the Shiekh Zayed National Museum accompanied By Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum during a state visit to Abu Dhabi
Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein arrives with her lawyer Baroness Fiona Shackleton at the High Court in London in February 2020
The High Court in London also ruled last year that he had orchestrated the forcible return home of an elder daughter, Sheikha Shamsa, whose disappearance from the English city of Cambridge in 2000 has been the subject of a longrunning police probe.
In February, the United Nations sought assurances from the UAE after the BBC broadcast the footage of Latifa saying: ‘I’m a hostage and this villa has been converted into a jail.’
Sheikh Mohammed maintained that he had been rescuing his daughter when she was brought back to the kingdom after her escape yacht was stopped off the coast of Goa, India.
The princess later appeared in photos showing her at a shopping mall in Dubai and on holiday in Europe.
A statement issued on her behalf by the Taylor Wessing law firm said in June: ‘I recently visited three European countries on holiday with my friend.
‘I asked her to post a few photos online to prove to campaigners that I can travel where I want. I hope now that I can live my life in peace without further media scrutiny. And I thank everyone for their kind wishes.’