A tragic, hidden and complicated case lies behind the death of a former Qatari princess, Kasia Galanio.
The ex-wife of a former minister and nephew of the Emir of Qatar was found dead in Spain from drug overdose.
However, her life is nothing like a princess's, as she was in a long-running legal battle for custody of the children before she died.
Death by drug overdose?
Specifically, former Qatari princess Kasia Galanio was found dead in her home in Marbella, Spain at the age of 45 amid a nasty custody battle with her ex-husband, whom she accused of abusing one of their children.
Kasia Galanio was the third wife of billionaire Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani, 73, the uncle of the current emir of Qatar.
She had alleged that her ex-husband and former Qatari oil and finance minister, who was the eldest son of the previous emir, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, sexually abused one of their three daughters, although he denied the allegations.
The cause of her death is attributed to a drug overdose. According to Parisien, Spanish police officers found Galanio's body in her bed, bearing no signs of physical violence. However, an investigation is to be opened to establish what substances she had taken.
Nervous attacks
About ten days ago, a Paris court had rejected her requests for custody of the children, and she had recently spent several months in hospital, with Le Parisien reporting that she was prone to nervous attacks.
The former couple share two 17-year-old twins, who initially lived with Gagliano's ex-husband until they decided to move with their mother to Marbella.
The 15-year custody battle
In fact, because of this decision, their father decided to cut all ties with them.
The former couple has another daughter, who is 15 years old and still lives with her father in a luxurious apartment 50.000 square meters in Paris, as he has been exiled there after a coup led by his half-brother Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in 1995.
The former royal couple had been embroiled in a bitter legal battle for 15 years over custody of their children.
Al Thani had accused Galanio of being an alcoholic with mental health problems, while she had accused him of abusing one of their daughters.
The Paris prosecutor's office had ordered an investigation into the allegations of aggravated sexual assault, the French newspaper reported, while the 73-year-old father has denied the charges against him.
Galanio had even said in a recent interview with Women's World:
"Two of my daughters are twins. One of my twins, two of my daughters, are twins. It's very sad because children need both parents. The little one is not allowed to talk to me, which makes me very sad because she gets a lot of material things from her father, so it's almost like manipulation and blackmail. It's like a part of my body is missing."
Meeting the former minister and emir's son
Galanio, of Polish descent, grew up in Los Angeles and met Abdelaziz when she was 19 and they married in 2004.
Speaking to Olive Press - a Spanish English-language newspaper - a close friend described her as a "good person" who was against drugs and alcohol.
She has lately been increasingly speaking out against her ex in her quest to gain full custody of all her children.
She recently told the 500.000 followers on Instagram:
"I was struggling to post this on my profile, but after receiving so many messages of support I decided to share my story.
"First, a man should never disrespect the mother of his children and vice versa. No matter how angry, upset or jealous or spiteful the father of my children is, I do everything I can to provide, protect, love, nurture, feed and educate the girls like no one else will. I'm not perfect, but I try to do my best.Children should NEVER be used as victims or pawns when parents can't get along. My children's father Prince Abdulaziz Khalifa Khalifa Al Thani has not paid a single cent in child support for over a year to help me support and raise our children. In my opinion this is outrageous, unfair, shameful and a real disgrace. Regardless of your financial level or the situation you are in. It is really immoral because again the children are the victim; however, it is more humiliating when you are a billionaire prince of Qatar," she had said.
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