On 5 March 2020, a British court ruled that on the balance of probabilities, Sheikh Mohammed, the absolute ruler of Dubai and the prime minister of the UAE, had abducted two of his daughters, Shamsa and Latifa, and had threatened Haya.

[7] Having trained for several years in Ireland and Germany,[6] she qualified for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney representing Jordan in show jumping, where she was also her country's flag bearer.

[6] On 7 June 2008, New Approach, a three-year-old colt owned by Princess Haya, trained in Ireland by Jim Bolger and ridden by Kevin Manning, won the Derby Stakes.

[13] Princess Haya frequently appeared, along with her husband, at Royal Ascot, the Epsom Derby and other highlights of the English equestrian calendar; both were reported to have been friendly with Queen Elizabeth II.

[14] Princess Haya is the first Arab and first woman to become Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Programme and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed her a UN Messenger of Peace in 2007.

[15] She founded Tkiyet Um Ali (TUA), the first Arab NGO dedicated to overcoming local hunger, in her native Jordan, which provides food assistance and employment opportunities to thousands of poor families.

In November 2012, Tkiyet Um Ali announced a campaign to quadruple the number of its beneficiaries to reach 20,000 families living under the food poverty line, aiming to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals on hunger by 2015.

[17] Princess Haya chaired Dubai's International Humanitarian City, which is the world's largest operational center for the delivery of aid, both in emergencies and for long-term development.

Ten UN agencies and nearly 40 non-government organizations are members of the IHC which has supported relief efforts all over the globe, including for Syrian refugees affected by civil war, for East Africans during the last drought,[which?]

She was a founding member of former secretary-general Kofi Annan's Global Humanitarian Forum based in Geneva, and writes editorials and articles on hunger, nutrition and the UN Sustainable Development Goals which have appeared in the London Times, Le Figaro, the Globe and Mail, and La Repubblica.

Relief and charitable programmes in Jordan also benefitted from the support of the princess's consort, Sheikh Mohammed, specifically the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, the Haya Cultural Centre and the 'Reading Nation' campaign.

[23] On 10 April 2004, Princess Haya married Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as his second and junior wife.

[32][33][34][35][36] On 14 May 2019, Sheikh Mohammed commenced proceedings in England and Wales under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court of Justice seeking orders for the children to be returned to the Emirate of Dubai.

[31] The High Court also accepted that Sheikh Mohammed had conducted a campaign, by various means, with the aim of harassing, intimidating or otherwise putting Princess Haya in great fear from the end of 2018.

The spyware's developer, NSO Group, itself had contacted an intermediary in August 2020 to inform Princess Haya of the hacking, of which Sheikh Mohammed denied knowledge.

It was also revealed that Sheikh Mohammed attempted to purchase a property near to Princess Haya's home, that "if anyone chose to use it, it is in prime position for direct or electronic surveillance".

[45] In March 2022, the High Court declared that Princess Haya had been a victim of "domestic abuse", and she was announced as the sole person in charge of the children's schooling and medical care.