House of Maktoum

The House of Maktoum (آل مكتوم Āl Maktūm) is the ruling royal family of the Emirate of Dubai, and one of the six ruling families of the United Arab Emirates. The family is a branch of the Bani Yas clan (a lineage the family shares with the Al Nahyan dynasty of Abu Dhabi), which is a branch of the Al Bu Falasah section of the Bani Yas, a tribal federation that was the dominant power through the region that now forms the United Arab Emirates.

History
In 1833, about 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, under the joint leadership of Sheikh Maktoum bin Butti and Obeid bin Said, took over the emirate of Dubai. After Obeid bin Said died of old age in 1836, Maktoum bin Butti took the reins as the sole ruler and established the Al Maktoum dynasty in the emirate.

The Al Maktoum dynasty has ruled Dubai since 1833. Within the federation of the United Arab Emirates, the Federal Supreme Council consists of the individual rulers of the seven emirates. The president and vice-president are elected by the Supreme Council every five years. Although unofficial, the presidency is de facto hereditary to the Al Nahyan clan of Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Prime Minister, Vice President and Minister of Defence post de facto is hereditary to the Al Maktoum clan of Dubai.

Rulers
The following Al Maktoum family members have ruled Dubai:

Assets
The Al Maktoum family owns Godolphin, one of the premier thoroughbred studs.

Controversy
In 2001, Sheikha Shamsa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum alleged that she was kidnapped off the streets of Cambridge by her father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s men.

Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum also alleged that she was kidnapped off the coast of India on the orders of her father. She has stated that she was detained under police guard in Dubai. The actions taken against the princesses was allegedly motivated by a desire to protect the reputation of the Al Maktoum family.

On 29 June 2019, The Sun reported that the wife of Sheikh Mohammed, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, had fled Dubai and was in Germany seeking political asylum along with her children son and daughter. The cause of the departure was unknown, despite a poem reportedly composed by Dubai’s ruler alluding to betrayal. On 30 July 2019 at the High Court, she filed for the sole custody of their two children, for a forced marriage protection order (FMPO), a non-molestation order, and non-repatriation to Dubai.

In December 2019, a UK family court ruled that—on the balance of probabilities—Sheikh Mohammed had orchestrated the abductions of Sheikha Latifa and Sheikha Shamsa and that he continued to maintain a regime whereby both were deprived of their liberty, and had subjected his former wife, Princess Haya, to a campaign of "intimidation"; the findings were published in March 2020.