Mohamed al Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed, Princess Diana’s boyfriend with whom she was in the 1997 car crash that took both their lives, has sold the famous British department store, Harrod’s, after 25 years.. He was the fourth owner of the store since its founding in 1849. The store has been sold to Qatar Holding who will keep the monument of Diana and Dodi named “Innocent Victims” in place on the first floor that Fayed had built after the untimely deaths of his son and the Princess of Wales. Although Fayed will no longer be involved with the day to day decisions of the store, having relinquished ownership, he will retain such a title as “Honorary Chairman.”

Abdul Rahman El Assir

Abdul Rahman El Assir

This was an unexpected sale because al Fayed’s purchase of Harrod’s in 1985 did not come without much ado from the British government, unhappy with the purchase, and Fayed had made it known that he planned to keep the exclusive department store until his death. Instead, he has changed his mind, as he claims, to spend more time with his children and grandchildren, and has sold the Knightsbridge department store for 1.5 billion pounds equal to about $2.2 billion American dollars. Al Fayed about doubled his investment. He bought the store for 617 million pounds, or what was equivalent to about a billion dollars in the 80’s.

Is this sale going to signal the end of the ongoing feud with the British monarchy? It looks like it might, but time can only tell. He still owns one of Britain’s major football teams and other businesses in the UK. The sale of Harrod’s was not without consideration to ensure that the legacy he built there remains intact. Not only will the monument he built in remembrance of his son and Diana remain, but most probably will the other shrine of the photograph of the two encased featuring Diana’s lipstick stained glass memorializing their last evening remain as well. It is not known whether his own plans to have himself immortalized in a glass pyramid on Harrod’s roof were a part of the sale agreement or not.