A Saudi princess who skipped out on a $7.5 million Paris hotel bill will not live happily ever after — now that a judge has ordered the seizure of her collection of jewels, art and clothes.
Princess Maha al-Sudairi tried to sneak away from the 5-star Shangri-La Hotel in the dead of night last June after Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, her brother-in-law, refused to pay the bill she ran up for a six-month stay.
The notorious shopaholic was caught red-handed trying to get a team of 60 personal assistants to secretly load a mountain of suitcases into waiting limousines so she could escape, London’s Telegraph newspaper reported.
The 58-year-old royal had been occupying an entire floor of the hotel with her crew.
When she was nabbed, the princess claimed diplomatic immunity and escaped to the another luxury hotel, owned by the Qatari head of state.
With the new ruling, issued Wednesday, the Shangri-La can seize storage units owned by the princess, which are believed to hold more than $10 million in gems and other valuables.
In 2009, she skipped out on $15 million in bills from a Paris spree, including $75,000 spent on designer lingerie.
The princess mounted that massive debt by writing IOUs to various luxury shops in the French capital.
She also took a shopping trip to Manhattan in 2010.
Dozens of shop owners are still waiting for Princess Maha to settle her tab.