Inside Mohamed Al-Fayed's Royal Family Obsession in Wake of Rape Allegations

Dodi Fayed's father seemed to be fascinated by the British royal family

The late Mohamed Al-Fayed, father of Dodi Fayed, who died alongside Princess Diana in a 1997 car crash in Paris, has been accused of multiple rapes in a new investigation — inspiring a dive into the billionaire's fixation with the British royal family.

Al-Fayed died in August 2023 at age 94, leaving behind a self-made fortune of about $2.1 billion, which he amassed in part through ownership of the London luxury department store Harrods, Fulham Football Club and the Ritz Hotel in Paris, Forbes reported.

Al-Fayed acquired a love for all things English as a child in Egypt, according to a 1990 interview with PEOPLE. His fascination with the royal family ultimately led him to purchase Villa Windsor in Paris, the former home of Queen Elizabeth's uncle, Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor (previously King Edward VIII), and his wife, Wallis Simpson.

''It's like a mausoleum,'' Al-Fayed told PEOPLE in 1990 of the estate, for which he spent $12 million to furnish and renovate the unofficial royal residence into a museum.

''It sometimes gives you the creeps — both of them having died here," he said, referencing the late Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who lived an exiled life after Edward's abdication in 1936. "But it's still a happy place, a great fantasy which I love to live in."

Related: Who Was Mohamed Al-Fayed? All About the Father of Princess Diana's Lover Dodi Fayed

Season 5 of The Crown on Netflix recently reimagined Mohamed Al-Fayed's journey from humble beginnings to his rise in British society and interactions with royalty. While the series explores his life story, the exact details and timing of his meeting with Princess Diana remain unclear. However, both Al-Fayed and the princess were present at a 1986 polo match, where future King Charles was playing. Al-Fayed's son, Dodi Fayed, also participated in the game, a scene that was notably recreated in the latest season of The Crown.

In real life, the entrepreneur was also photographed with Queen Elizabeth several times at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

After Princess Diana's divorce from Charles, Mohamed Al-Fayed extended an invitation to her and her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, to join him for a summer vacation on his yacht in St. Tropez in 1997. It is believed that during this trip, Diana and Dodi Fayed rekindled their relationship, which soon turned romantic, despite Dodi's engagement to another woman at the time.

After Princess Diana and Dodi died in an August 1997 car crash in Paris, Al-Fayed blamed the British royal family for their deaths. He alleged that Prince Philip had instructed British security services to assassinate Diana to prevent her from marrying Dodi, a Muslim, and became increasingly vocal in his criticism of the royal family.

Related: A Timeline of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed's Relationship

He famously promoted conspiracy theories surrounding the accident, which also claimed the life of driver Henri Paul and left bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones seriously injured. These allegations played a significant role in prompting the launch of the Operation Paget inquest in 2004.

The jury ultimately concluded that the deaths of Diana, Dodi, and Henri Paul resulted from the gross negligence of the chauffeur and the paparazzi. In response, Al-Fayed said he would accept the verdict, telling Britain’s ITV News at Ten, "I’ve had enough."

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In a new report from the BBC on Sept. 19, five women claimed they were raped by Al-Fayed when they worked at Harrods, the luxury London department store that he owned from 1985 to 2010. The network heard testimony from over 20 female former employees alleging that Al-Fayed raped or sexually abused them, detailed in the new documentary and podcast Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods, released on Sept. 19.

Though The Telegraph noted that Al-Fayed's alleged sexual harassment of Harrods staffers were featured in the unauthorized 1998 biography Fayed by Tom Bower, which overlapped with the years he knew them socially, "there is no suggestion that any member of the Royal family knew of any allegations of sexual assault or harassment at the time."

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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Read the original article on People.