He went from street trader to Harrods tycoon, but the ‘Phoney Pharaoh’ was rejected by the elite and haunted by the death of Diana and Dodi.
Mohamed al-Fayed loved Britain more than it loved him back. Whether it was buying famous businesses, accruing the Rolls-Royces and stately homes of the aristocracy, or buttering up the Royal Family, he did everything he could to make himself a member of the British upper classes.
“As Freddie Forsyth said, that night was like winning the lottery in reverse. A lot of bad things happened, and by chance some of them were Mohamed’s fault, like saying he wanted his driver to drive them. Haunted is hardly the word … I can’t imagine what it would be like to go through what he went through.”
Britain controlled the army, foreign affairs, communications and the Suez Canal. The upper classes spoke English and dressed in Savile Row tailoring. Academics went to British universities and children studied at British-style schools, or – for the very wealthy – to the British schools themselves. In Alexandria, where Fayed grew up – the “Al” came later – to be one of the elite was to be British, with the Royal Family at the apex.
“He was really trying to get close to Diana and thought that would be a kind way to do that,” Levin says. “He went after her because she was so beautiful and loved by so many people around the world. I expect he thought he could get a bit of that magic.” Harrods wasn’t his only move towards the royals. He sponsored the Royal Windsor Horse Show, which meant opportunities to be photographed alongside Queen Elizabeth II. This was fictionalised in an episode ofthat focused entirely on his life. “He went for the really big things, which weren’t so much about money, but about being part of the circle,” says Levin. “He did everything he possibly could, but he didn’t appeal to them.
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