The biggest divorce case in British legal history began yesterday as a Jordanian princess arrived at court to demand a share of the fortune of the ruler of Dubai. Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein, 47, is seeking a settlement following the collapse of her marriage to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, 72.

A ten-day hearing at the High Court before Mr Justice Moor will decide the payout for the princess and their two young children.

Details of the hearing, conducted in front of journalists, remain secret at this stage but experts predicted before it started that the settlement could surpass the record £450 million awarded in 2017 to Tatiana Akhmedova, the former wife of the Russian billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov. That award was reduced to £150 million in July.