A cleaner accused of stealing jewellery worth almost £200,000 from a Jordanian princess tried to auction the items in Paris, a court has been told.
Maria Taborda Henao, 69, allegedly stole diamond rings, bracelets, watches and earrings while working at Princess Firyal’s central London home in 2020.
The thefts are said to have taken place while Henao, from Colombia, was left alone at the £6 million property in Belgravia during the pandemic.
Leila Bibi Nahaboo-Osman, for the prosecution, said the princess, 80, had travelled back to Jordan at the time, leaving Henao with access to the empty property.
“There was approximately £188,000 of sentimental and historic jewellery,” she told Westminster magistrates’ court. “These items were stolen.”
Henao had worked for the princess for 11 years, meaning the thefts represented a “breach of high trust and responsibility by a long-term employee”, Nahaboo-Osman said.
Firyal was later contacted by a high-end jeweller in Paris and learnt that her sapphire and diamond wedding ring had been put up for sale without her consent. An auction website listed a large number of items belonging to the princess, the court was told.
It was alleged that the jewellery was handed to Julain Ramirez, 41, the housekeeper’s nephew, who sold it through a Kent auction house. A warrant has been issued for his arrest and he was due to appear in court alongside his aunt, but was now in Colombia receiving treatment for a heart condition.
Henao, who lives in Fulham, west London, was aided by a Spanish interpreter as she appeared in court yesterday in white jeans and a white jumper. She denied a charge of theft by employee between February and November of 2020. She has been bailed before a plea and trial preparation hearing at Southwark crown court on May 12.
Firyal is the former wife of Prince Muhammad bin Talal, the second son of the late King Talal of Jordan.
Her father, Farid Mahmoud Irshaid, was a political leader who served in the government and as a parliamentarian in the Jordanian senate. Her mother, Farida, was chair of the Red Crescent Society in the West Bank.
After studying in America, Firyal married into royalty in 1964. Her father-in-law became king in 1951 but abdicated a year later.
After divorcing in 1978, Firyal became a long-term companion of Lionel Pincus, an American businessman.
Firyal, a Unesco goodwill ambassador since 1992, holds several philanthropic positions, including as a member of the international council of the Tate Modern in London.
