Sheikh Mohammed is the massively wealthy, seemingly-progressive ruler of Dubai, a glittering tourist destination on the Persian Gulf. But when his daughter, Sheikha Shamsa, runs away from his British estate, it seems that all that glitters is not gold. Click ‘Subscribe’ at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices A Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment production. To connect with Infamous's creative team, plus access behind the scenes content, join the community at Campsidemedia.com/join Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
Hi y'all, welcome back to Infamous. You're about to hear the first episode in our series on Dubai's missing princesses. We first aired this in 2023, and since then, there's only been more intrigue over the world's missing royals. I mean, remember when internet conspiracy theorists were convinced Kate Middleton had disappeared when she actually was just dealing with a cancer diagnosis?
But unlike Kate, this is the story of several very real disappearances, about women desperately attempting to escape a gilded cage, with dire consequences. We hope you enjoy it, and thanks for listening.
Welcome to Dubai. It's a dazzling metropolis in the United Arab Emirates, flanked by rolling sand dunes and the turquoise waters of the Persian Gulf. This is one of the world's great cities.
Chapter 2: Who is Sheikh Mohammed and what is Dubai like under his rule?
Giant islands the shape of palms that could be seen from space. The world's tallest skyscraper, a modern day Tower of Babel.
The only seven star hotel in the world. Dubai is a playground for expats and the mega rich.
How many handbikes do you have? I don't know.
Where else in the world can you live like this? It's magic.
Who is responsible for this world of earthly delights? Well, there's one man who takes credit. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Welcome to Dubai. Sheikh Mo, as he's called, is the all-powerful ruler of Dubai. He's 73 years old, but his beard is jet black, which might mean it's dyed, and overall, the look is very stern Arab dad.
Sheikh Mohammed, whatever the Sheikh wants gets done, and fast.
Sheikh Mo is a monarch, but he's sort of like a cool monarch. He drives around in a white Mercedes G-Class SUV. The license plate, number one.
Although extremely wealthy, they manage to remain humble in the eyes of their subjects and are devoted to public issues in both Dubai and the UAE.
He projects the image of a progressive democratic ruler, or at least progressive for the Gulf region. He's a poet, an author, a horse lover. Some horses just give you that feeling, you know, telling you that there is something about them. Through their eye, you can see their heart, and the horses is fantastic. Sounds pretty great, huh? Sheikh Mo seems like the perfect leader for his country.
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Chapter 3: What personal experiences does Vanessa's co-host have with Dubai?
This was the general assessment. But there was one child who didn't agree.
All my father cares about is his reputation. He will kill people. They don't care. Especially if you're a female, your life is so disposable. They don't care. He's the most evil person I've ever met in my life. He's pure evil.
From Campside Media and Sony Music Entertainment, this is Infamous, and I'm Vanessa Grigoriadis. This is episode one of our four-part series, The Missing Princesses. This week, we're telling yet another dramatic story about the rich and famous, but this one is from halfway across the world.
It's a story I've done a lot of reporting on, but I'm also going to be joined as a co-host by Natalie Robamed. She's a writer on our team, and she has a personal link to the country. So, Natalie, tell us about that.
Yeah, I actually grew up in the UAE, and I lived there until I was 18, first in Abu Dhabi and then in Dubai. So what was that like? Well, it was interesting. The UAE is this tiny sliver of a nation, slightly smaller than Maine. It's right next to Saudi Arabia, and it was officially formed in 1971 from a bunch of these kind of tiny city-states ruled by different royal families.
Who are the sheikhs, right? Exactly, exactly. So the male members of those ruling families are called sheikhs and the female members are called sheikhs. You'd be surprised to think about it now, but back in the 90s when I'd tell people where I was from, they'd be like, Dubai? Where is that? I mean, are you trying to say that Americans don't care about the rest of the world? Not no.
But yeah, there was a time when not a lot of people had heard of Dubai. I mean, the UAE is only 51 years old as a country. Before then, and before oil money changed everything, it was known as the crucial states.
So that's like when people say, oh, these people, they were just living in tents. Like, I mean, is that the truth? Or what was it like back then?
Well, it's definitely a little Orientalist way of describing it. But yeah, I mean, it was nowhere near as developed as it was now. They were nomadic people. I mean, the main industry was pearl diving and trading. So there's a grain of truth in there.
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Chapter 4: Who is Sheikha Latifa and what are the circumstances of her life?
Back then, even the internet was censored by the government. If you tried to log into a website the government didn't like, it would be blocked and an error message would pop up. And what would it say? Oh man, it would basically say that the site is blocked because it's inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political, and moral values of the United Arab Emirates.
But their values are consistent with real housewife values? I mean, what are these people doing living in Dubai then?
Money. That's a big part of it. People put up with it because it's basically a tax haven. You don't really have to pay any income tax to live there. So you can make lots of money in this kind of a set of golden handcuffs.
And that's what our story is about. It's about what happened to three princesses when they tried to break out of those golden handcuffs. Natalie will kick it off after the break.
When a young woman named Patty vanishes without a trace, her best friend launches a desperate search, and the trail leads to Kat Torres, a charismatic influencer with millions of followers. Her social media presence showcases a picture-perfect life, and she promises her followers a spiritual awakening. All they have to do is follow her lead.
But behind the glamorous posts and inspirational quotes, a sinister truth unravels. From Wondery, Don't Cross Cat is a chilling investigation that asks the question, if an influencer promised you a dream life, what would you sacrifice? Based on the Brazilian true crime saga that captivated a nation, Don't Cross Cat is a story of ambition, control, and the lives destroyed by empty promises.
What starts as an investigation into a missing persons case explodes into a story of manipulation, coercion, prostitution, and human trafficking, all orchestrated behind a curated social media facade. You can binge all episodes of Don't Cross Cat early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus.
Spring has sprung and I am dying to get out of town. I'm actually going away this weekend with some friends, and I recently bought my partner a new Quince carry-on that I might just be borrowing for this trip.
This year, I'm treating myself to the luxe upgrades I deserve with Quince's high-quality travel essentials at fair prices, like lightweight European linen styles from $30, washable silk tops, and comfy lounge sets, with premium luggage options and stylish tote bags to carry it all. The best part? All Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands.
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Chapter 5: How did Latifa's friendship with Tina Jauhiainen develop?
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You're listening to Infamous from Campside Media.
Before we get into the epic tale of what happened with Sheikha Latifa and her father, I want to note that there was one thing she was known for, and it definitely wasn't handcuffs. It was an act of total freedom, at least metaphorically speaking. She was jumping out of airplanes. Picture it, over and over, many, many times.
Latifa is in a black skydiving suit, free falling from hundreds of feet above the aqua blue Persian Gulf. She has the best view of Dubai, the city, the sea, the desert. She's wearing pink and orange sunglasses that match her Nike sneakers. In a photo, you can see her stretching out one leg in front of her, as though she's running on a cloud.
Hello, my name is Latifa Al Maktoum. I was born on December 5, 1985. My father is the Prime Minister of UAE. He has three daughters called Latifa. I'm the middle one.
That's Latifa in a video she recorded herself. She's got long black hair and dark almond-shaped eyes that widen as she talks. When we think of wealthy golf royals, we think of monthly stipends and designer handbags. Maybe they have a flat in London and a maid, maybe a cushy job as a VP of a bank, even if that job is really just a way of transferring money into their own bank accounts.
But Latifa was a bit different. She was constantly on the move. If she wasn't jumping out of planes, she was riding horses, playing with her pet monkey, or mastering martial arts. Which is how she met her friend, Tina Jauhiainen.
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Chapter 6: What restrictions did Sheikha Latifa face in her life?
She basically contacted me for private capoeira lessons. We started with the lessons and eventually we became very good friends.
Tina's from Finland. She moved to Dubai more than 20 years ago, which in the very transient city with lots of expats and real housewives makes her an old timer. Tina started seeing Latifa almost every day. Latifa wasn't allowed to work, so new hobbies like capoeira and then skydiving became obsessions.
Our friendship grew over the years.
Turns out the image of a fearless, free, daredevil princess wasn't the whole story.
You could easily get a wrong impression. Her life was actually very, very restricted. She was not allowed to study. She had not left the country since year 2000.
Now, some Emirati women live very free lives. They study abroad, work in government, don't wear hijabs. But a lot of these personal freedoms are decided by families and aren't codified in law. Up until recently, it was legal for a man to have sex with a girl as long as she was 14. But for women, if you had kids out of wedlock, you could face a minimum of two years in jail.
And if you get divorced, you can lose custody of your children to the father once daughters reach 13 and sons 11. This means that some women are basically second-class citizens to their husbands and fathers. For example, Emirati women need their male guardian's approval to marry, meaning their dad, or if the dad has passed away, a brother or a cousin.
And get this, only Emirati men pass down citizenship. So if an Emirati woman has a child with a non-Emirati man, her kid won't automatically be a UAE citizen. To return to Latifa, well, she says that her life as a royal was even stricter than life for regular Emirati women.
I wasn't allowed to go outside. Like, I was going to school. I would sometimes go to the family's stables to horse ride. And apart from that, I didn't do anything else. I've been asking a lot just to go traveling, to study, to do anything normal. They don't let me. Freedom of choice is not something that, you know, we have. So when you have it, you take it for granted.
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