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The Crown Prince and I….

23rd January 2010 by Helena 9 Comments  

Henri Cartier-Bresson talked about the “defining moment” in photography; that split-second when you capture an image that will never be forgotten. In life there are defining moments too. Depending on what you are into it could be the first time you saw the ballet Swan Lake, or your first pair of Manolo Blahniks, or possibly the birth of your first child.

In journalism, rather like photography, you have to grab those moments when they come up, because they do not happen often. On Thursday I was having lunch with my friend Noch at a local restaurant called Jones the Grocer. A Sheikh walked in. We knew he was someone very important because the whole place ground to a halt and one person even kissed him on the head (a mark of great respect here because it means you elevate the person to the level of your parents).

Noch and I thought we recognised him but decided to check with two Emirati women sitting next to us. “It is Sheikh Mohammed,” they told us. “The Crown Prince.”

This is the second most powerful man in the UAE, probably one of the richest men in the world and, most crucially, the owner of my newspaper. I immediately called Rupert. “Go and ask him for an interview,” he said.

Now I were the owner of a newspaper, that is exactly how I would want my employees to behave. But this is the UAE I thought to myself. Maybe he won’t appreciate being disturbed. But my deep-rooted journalistic instinct took over. I pulled out my business cards, found a pristine one (one that hadn’t been drawn on by the children), and marched over.

“Your Highness,” I began, with a little curtsey which I had perfected for Prince Andrew only weeks before, “I work for your newspaper. My name is Helena Frith Powell.”

He stood up to greet me and I handed him my card.

“I just wanted to say that if you ever wanted to give an interview I would really love to interview you.”

He smiled and nodded.

“Thank you, it was lovely to meet you. Enjoy your lunch,” I added and walked back to Noch and my fish and chips.

I am not sure he will ever let me near him again, but it was a pretty defining moment for me. Here is a very bad picture I managed to take once back in my seat…..he’s the one standing up.

Copyright: Helena Frith Powell 2009


Filed Under: Abu Dhabi, Work, blog --> Tagged With: crown, prince

9 thoughts on The Crown Prince and I....

  • ruth says:
    23rd January 2010 at 6:40 pm

    Well done!! Seize the moment and all that… but it takes courage to carry the initial idea through (and not to panic over the curtsey).
    Congratulations again!

  • Jose says:
    24th January 2010 at 2:34 pm

    a bit cringy tho’ – if these gods on earth are so approachable, maybe it’s worth thinking out a better tactic – less grovelly and more memorable – perhaps we should all try and think of something?

  • mimi says:
    24th January 2010 at 11:22 pm

    Good for you!
    Life is too short to waste oppportunities such as this. I hate the “if only” moments . And your approach was so graceful!
    Just wondering, was this one of the “no expectations” moments of 2010?

  • Cate Jumeirah says:
    30th January 2010 at 11:22 am

    Yes, well done, Helena, great looking guy, too. (Though our poet crown prince, Fazza, here in Dubai (aka HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum) is pretty close to the top on the “cute crown princes” list too!!!!
    (Eat your heart out William Windsor…)
    Actually, the terrific thing about the Royals in this country is just how approachable they are, how you really can go up to them in public and say hello and they are never phased by this. And you do often see them in restaurants. I’m not so sure I believe him but an acquaintance of ours even claims that Sheikh Mohammed and Princess Haya waited in line behind him to get a table at Noodle House at the Emirates Towers late last year. (Mmmm, yeah, and I’m Madonna)

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Helena Frith Powell was born in Sweden to a Swedish mother and Italian father, but grew up mainly in England. She is the author of eleven books, translated into several languages including Chinese and Russian. She wrote the French Mistress column The Sunday Times about life in France for several years. She is a regular contributor to the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Times, Daily Telegraph, Tatler Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar.

Helena has been the editor of four magazines, including M Magazine, a supplement for the Abu Dhabi-based National Newspaper and FIVE, a high-end fashion glossy, also published in Abu Dhabi. Helena was also editor-in-chief of 360 Life, a quarterly glossy magazine published with the Sports 360 Newspaper in Dubai, part of the Chalhoub Group.

Helena contributes regularly to UK-based newspapers and magazines and holds a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge. She is working on a thriller set in Sweden as well as a novel about the relationship between Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield called Sense of an Echo.

In 2022 her short story The Japanese Gardener came second in the Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. One of her stories was also shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize. When she’s not writing, she works as a headhunter for the media and entertainment industry for the Sucherman Group. 

Helena, who was educated at Durham University, lives in the Languedoc region of France with her husband Rupert and their three children.

Bibliography

More France Please, we’re British; Gibson Square 2004

Two Lipsticks and a Lover 2005; Gibson Square (hardback)

All You Need to be Impossibly French; (US version of above) Penguin 2006

Two Lipsticks and a Lover; Arrow Books (paperback) 2007

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (hardback) 2006

Ciao Bella Gibson Square; (paperback) 2007

So Chic! (French version of Two Lipsticks) Leduc Editions 2008 (also translated into Chinese, Russian and Thai)

More, More France; Gibson Square 2009

To Hell in High Heels; Arrow Books 2009 (also translated into Polish)

The Viva Mayr Diet; Harper Collins 2009

Love in a Warm Climate; Gibson Square 2011

The Ex-Factor; Gibson Square 2013

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles; Gibson Square 2016

The Arnolfini Marriage; Amazon Kindle December 2016

Smart Women Don’t Get Wrinkles (paperback); Gibson Square spring 2018

The Longest Night; Gibson Square spring 2019

 

 

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