Late Saudi king’s ‘secret wife’ gets $23 million UK payout

The sun sets behind the minarets of Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University mosque in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. AP FILE PHOTO

LONDON — A British judge has ruled in favor of a woman who says she was the “secret wife” of the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.

Judge Peter Smith on Tuesday ordered that Janan Harb, 68, receive more than 15 million pounds ($23 million) and two expensive apartments in London’s Chelsea neighborhood that had been promised her. He said her claim to a financial settlement was “credible.”

She told the court she secretly married the king in 1968 when he was still a prince. Her testimony indicated she had been promised the financial settlement by Prince Abdul Aziz, the son of another of the king’s wives.

The prince declined to testify in person but denied her claims in written statements. He was held in contempt of court for refusing to testify. TVJ