Princess Haya arrives at appeal court with her lawyer Baroness Shackleton

The ruler of Dubai has lost his appeal against a High Court decision to publish two judgments relating to his legal battle with estranged wife Princess Haya.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 70, had been battling to keep elements of their long-running legal row secret, appealing against a previous decision to make details public. 

Lord Justice Underhill ruled against the ruler of Dubai at the Court of Appeal in London today.  

Earlier, Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein. was seen arriving at the court with her lawyer Fiona Shackleton ahead of the judgement.   

Sheikh Al Maktoum, who is also vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, has been locked in a long-running row with his estranged wife over their custody of their two children. 

Shekh Mohammed has applied for the summary return of his children to Dubai, while Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, 45, the half-sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan, wants them to be made wards of court so they cannot be taken to Dubai against her will.  

So far Britain’s top family judge has only allowed the press to report that she has also applied for the non-molestation order – designed to help victims of domestic violence keep abusers away – and a forced marriage protection order in relation to the children.

These can be made to protect a person from being forced into a marriage and could, for example, prevent someone being taken abroad for a wedding.

Haya’s legal team includes Baroness Shackleton, who represented the Prince of Wales during his divorce from Diana, and Sir Paul McCartney in his divorce from Heather Mills.

Baroness Shackleton became a life peer sitting on the Tory benches in 2010 and remains the personal solicitor of Princes William and Harry.

Haya attended a hearing at the Court of Appeal in London on Wednesday to hear Lord Justice Underhill read a public statement confirming that Sheikh Mohammed is appealing against a decision to publish two judgments made by Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the Family Division.

The judge said the two judgments relate to ‘certain disputed factual issues’ and ‘issues arising out of the special position of (Sheikh Mohammed) as the sovereign and head of government of a foreign state’.

He added that Sheikh Mohammed’s legal team – which is headed by Lord Pannick QC, who acted for Gina Miller in the landmark Supreme Court case over the prorogation of Parliament – will argue that the decision was ‘wrong in law and that the judgments should not be published, if at all, in advance of the welfare hearing’ next month.

Lord Justice Underhill said Sheikh Mohammed’s appeal – which ‘raises questions both about what is in the best interests of the children and about how to balance that, if necessary, against the right of the press to report matters of public interest’ – was opposed by Princess Haya, the independent guardian ‘appointed by the court to represent the children’s interests’ and by a number of media organisations.

After Lord Justice Underhill read out the statement, the court sat ‘in private’, with members of the public excluded and journalists allowed to remain but not report details of the evidence and arguments.

Sheikh Mohammed, the founder of the successful Godolphin horse racing stable, was not present in court to hear the statement.

Haya, who is the half-sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan and is Sheik Mohammed’s sixth wife, claims to have fled Dubai with their two children ‘in fear of her life’ after becoming estranged from her husband.

Sheik Mohammed, who turned 70 last July, is the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. He has more than 20 children by different wives.

He is also the founder of the successful Godolphin horse racing stable and received a trophy from the Queen after one of his horses won a race at Royal Ascot earlier this year.