Karim, King of England

by Baz Wade

  With Rod’s approval, Caroline had decided to send one text to her son’s nanny, Marigold Smith, aka “Smiffy”, as follows:

  Dear Smiffy – I was not in the car that crashed and neither was Rod. I have gone to ground as I’ve been told my life is in danger. Keep this to yourself and Richard – don’t tell anyone else – let James think I’m dead. Do not try to contact me. I will be in touch again asap. Love to R and you. Caro

  Although Richard was now 17, Smiffy was still on the payroll at St James Palace as an “admin assistant” – she was completely trustworthy, motherly towards Richard and respected by both James and Caroline. Richard loved her dearly – probably more than he loved either of his parents. Smiffy would know what to do and could be relied on not to rock the boat by telling James.

  The Press conference was held at 6.00 pm in the Gymnasium and was chaired by Lucetti, who confirmed the time of the accident, the names of the victims and the existence but not the name of the witness.

  Hassan was present but did not speak – Lucetti read out a short statement on behalf of Hassan’s family saying how devastated they all were and asking for privacy at this difficult time. Someone from the Press asked if it was true that Ali and Caroline had recently got engaged, but Hassan declined to comment. To confirm they had would merely provide fodder for the conspiracy theorists and attract even more unwanted attention than was already the case.

  The paparazzi were there in force, including Luigi, who had already formed his own opinion as to who was to blame for the “accident.” He decided to keep quiet for now, partly because his own role in the matter was mercenary, to put it mildly, and also out of fear. If MI6 got to hear he was being indiscreet, they could easily eliminate him if they decided it was expedient so to do.

  A shortened version of the Press conference was televised on the Italian national news and most other TV networks around the world within the next few hours – it was billed as “Death of a Princess.”

  Among the many millions who watched this was Navarra – the Surgeon – who had already decided his fee was well earned and shortly informed Scarman, the MI6 rep, to consider himself invoiced.

  Luckily for Caroline and Rod, the Czech girl, Eva, and her boyfriend were rolling stone types without family ties and hardly any friends apart from each other – so – for now – no-one asked awkward questions about their whereabouts.

  Sensing there might be further photo opportunities and information to be had by following Hassan back to his chalet, Luigi did just that, and was rewarded with a “no comment” when he broached the subject of Ali and Caroline’s relationship when Hassan approached the front door of the chalet.

  Luigi was considering staging an all night vigil outside the chalet to keep track of goings on generally but was summoned by an urgent call from his wife with a shopping list and request that he fix the broken down washing machine.

  Luigi decided to return to the chalet the following day…

  After they had watched the Press conference on the news, Hassan remarked “I guess I’m in your hands now – if or when it gets out you weren’t in the crash the Police will clobber me with a wasting Police time charge or whatever…”

  “We’re all in this together – what we’re doing is for the best and to protect the unborn kiddie, in particular,” said Rod.

  “One thing I need to ask you Caroline,” said Hassan. “How did your ski pass end up in the Merc? The Police found it in a ski jacket they retrieved.”

  “That’s easy. I lent Fiona my ski jacket just before they left as hers was torn. She even said she liked the celebrity status wearing the jacket conferred. I said she was welcome to the jacket and the celebrity status! I just didn’t get around to removing the ski pass from the jacket.”

  “That was lucky.” Hassan continued “I’ve checked the Jeep and it’s got easily enough fuel to get you to Treviso – I’ll get the hire company to collect it from the airport. I’ve parked it about 30 metres from the back entrance out of sight of the front. I suggest you leave around 1.30 am – that will give you easily enough time to get to Treviso where Francois will meet you at the crew’s entrance. That airport is half baked at the best of times so it’s very unlikely anyone will question you, and if they do, just say you have a rendezvous with Francois, captain of a private jet.”

  At the allotted time and after supper and a short sleep, Rod, in a cashmere coat, and Caroline, in a niqab, jeans and fake fur jacket, located the Jeep and drove to Treviso Airport, arriving at about 3.20 am. They were able to rendezvous without difficulty with Francois – Rod did most of the talking, briefly introducing Caroline to Francois and thanking Francois in advance for his discretion and efforts in rescuing them.

  Francois led them past a sleeping Customs Officer and onto the Lear jet, where he introduced them to Marcel, his co-pilot.

  “Okay, guys, it’s next stop Marrakesh,” said Francois breezily – “I trust Rod you have the $5000 we need to get past Passport Control?”

  “Yes, no problem,” replied Rod.

  Fifteen minutes after take off the aircraft was levelling off to cruise at 25000 feet and Rod and Caroline were raiding the drinks cabinet and were disappointed to discover there was no alcohol – only orange juice and tea.

  About 80 minutes later the plane started its descent towards Marrakesh and landed 15 minutes after that at 5.45 am local time.

  The Souk traders and kif dealers of Marrakesh had mainly not yet risen from their beds or, in some cases, emerged from their tents.

  Francois made 2 calls on his mobile, one to his contact in Passport Control and the other to Zaid to confirm arrival. The handing over of the bribe took place during the next 25 minutes, following which Francois led the couple to Zaid’s white Honda 4x4 which they located close to the crew’s exit.

  Zaid could not have been more charming – he was keen to help, as requested by his old friend, Hassan. He also felt privileged to be the host of Caroline, having regard to her celebrity and ex-royal status.

  “I think you must be the most important British visitor to Marrakesh since Winston Churchill in 1943,” he ventured.

  “I believe he also travelled incognito in the war to avoid German agents and so on.”

  “How fascinating” said Caroline, “What attracted him to Marrakesh?”

  “Apparently he told Roosevelt, the US President, that Marrakesh was the loveliest place in the world – he used to paint the mountains and reddish buildings in the sunset.”

  “Did he try the kif?” asked Rod.

  Zaid laughed – “No, I think he stuck to whisky and cigars.”

  “Where are we heading?” asked Rod.

  “My ranch – it’s about 50 kms north east of Essaouira, which is on the coast. It’s very secluded – it’s called Menara Stables – I have about 30 camels and the same number of horses. It’s a stud farm so we have good security and so on as the animals are worth a lot of money. When you are tired of riding horses and camels you can swim in the pool or there’s surfing about 10 kms away.”

  “I can’t imagine I’ll be surfing,” said Caroline.

  “Maybe not, but Rod could as he’s unlikely to be recognised as there are so few people around,” suggested Zaid.

  “I’ll wear goggles if necessary,” joked Rod.

  Caroline hardly managed a smile – she was on Valium to tide her over the deep grief she was feeling.

  Buckingham Palace, London SW1

  Her Majesty the Queen was very far from being amused. Her troublesome ex-daughter-in-law may have been removed from the scene, but was that removal temporary or permanent?

  It appeared that confusion reigned supreme. How were they to be certain Caroline was dead without any trace of a body? The British media, particularly the red top papers, were in a state of hysteria, with accusations being hurled around about the likelihood of MI6’s involvement in the car crash.


  For the time being, Her Majesty had been advised to wait for the Italian Police to complete their preliminary investigations.

  Smithson, the Prime Minister, in particular was advising against a rush to judgment – apart from anything else there were rumours swirling around that Caroline might still be alive – then again the Police had found Caroline’s ski pass in a charred ski jacket. It was messy and likely to get messier.

  Her Majesty’s main concern at the moment was the welfare of her grandson, Prince Richard, but he appeared to be quite calm and was often to be found in the company of his former nanny, Miss Smith.

  As for her son, Prince James, he appeared to be relieved, up to a point, that his ex-wife, Caroline, might at last have been neutralised – she had in the last few years since their divorce used every opportunity to rubbish him and he was sick of it.

  Although he dare not say it publicly, as far as he was concerned, if MI6 had been involved in Caroline’s death, they all deserved medals and gold plated pensions and he might just make it happen on the quiet, when he eventually became King.

  Back at the Menara Stables, Rod and Caroline were inspecting their new quarters which were comfortable, spacious, private and, most importantly, air conditioned. The accommodation consisted of a large flat above some stabling, including 2 double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen and living room.

  Zaid had allocated a married couple from among his staff, Umar and Zainab, to look after the visitors and had left strict instructions to the effect that Rod and Caroline’s privacy was to be respected at all times and no information was to be leaked to other staff members or, even worse, to anyone beyond the boundaries of the ranch.

  Over the next few months, Caroline and Rod’s main enemy was boredom. They rode plenty of camels and horses, swam in the pool, socialised with Zaid, his wife and 2 grown-up daughters, but had virtually no contact with the outside world apart from via TV and radio.

  About 3 months after they first arrived, Hassan paid them a visit during which he insisted on taking photos of Rod and Caroline holding the current issue of Paris Match, and discreetly including two or three photos of Caroline in her bikini with a bulge obviously apparent – he told them he might need proof one day they had survived the crash in Italy. In return, Caroline extracted a promise from Hassan that he would give a letter to Prince Richard from her – the letter read as follows:-

  Darling R

  I have been advised my life is in danger, which is why I have gone to ground, ably protected by Rod, who has been very attentive and understanding – a hero in fact.

  I am now 3 months pregnant and have a strong feeling the baby will be a boy, in which case my greatest wish is that you and he should be friends, particularly if anything happens to me. I intend to call him Karim, which was Ali’s grandfather’s name – they were very close.

  I realise your father will probably try and prevent this, particularly as Karim will have been brought up a Muslim.

  I hope and pray that you do not end up enemies – blood is thicker than water, as they say.

  I will try and write again soon –

  God bless

  Fondest love – Mummy

  On her handing the letter to Hassan, he said “I promise you I will get this to Richard.” What he did not say was how and when.

  Two months’ later, following the issue of a formal statement by the Police in Venice and Cortina that Caroline had perished in a road accident and a similar verdict in an Italian Coroner’s Court, a low key private memorial service was held in London attended by Princes James, Richard and various members of Caroline’s family. Selected members of the Press were invited to the service but TV cameras were barred at the request of Caroline’s next-of-kin.

  Back in Morocco, Caroline was beginning to ask questions relating to how and where she would give birth. Zaid assured her that Hassan’s private Doctor and a midwife would look after her on the ranch, all paid for by Hassan.

  No expense was to be spared and nothing was to be left to chance.

  A preliminary visit by Caroline to a maternity clinic in the Hospital in Essaouira was arranged. Caroline wore a niqab for the journey for the sake of anonymity, and was accompanied by Rod in the role of expectant father. Zaid was the driver.

  No problems were detected in the clinic in relation to the pregnancy.

  Zaid, on Hassan’s instructions, arranged for an air ambulance to be on standby in the event of any emergency arising while Caroline was at the ranch.

  Caroline had been advised not to ride camels or horses from 4 months into her pregnancy so she passed the time helping one of the ranch hands with the breaking in of the yearling colts and fillies.

  At the end of the eighth month of her pregnancy, Caroline was watching a young horse being led round the compound, which was enclosed by wooden gates and fencing, when the animal was spooked by a barking dog. The colt then reared up, shook off his handler and barged into Caroline, causing her to fall, jumped the gate and proceeded to bolt up the drive towards the ranch house.

  Caroline, after dusting herself down, was more concerned about the welfare of the horse than herself, but started to experience severe labour pains a couple of hours later, causing Zaid to phone for the air ambulance.

  At the time of the call the helicopter was away on another mission and it was 90 minutes later that it arrived at Menara to take Caroline to the maternity unit.

  By the time Caroline reached the maternity unit she was slipping in and out of consciousness and it was decided to deliver the baby by way of a caesarean section without delay as there was no likelihood of Caroline being able to cope with a conventional birth, and she appeared to be bleeding profusely.

  Karim Ali Stuart Khaled was born on 15 July 1994 at 6.15 pm local time.

  Sadly, Karim only co-existed with his mother for 90 minutes, during which time Caroline managed to whisper his name and smile, but expired shortly afterwards.

  Subsequently Caroline’s Death Certificate recorded the cause of death as post-partum haemorrhage – loss of blood after giving birth.

  It was agreed that the delay in getting her to the Hospital, caused by the prior engagement of the air ambulance, probably led directly to her death, as the medics would probably have saved her if they had been able to act earlier.

  For the second time in less than a year, Hassan was faced with a family tragedy, but this time tempered by elation at the birth of a grandson.

  Again he was called upon to act quickly – this time to decide who would foster the orphan Karim – away from the prying eyes of Press and public, both substantially unconcerned about the effect of their attentions on a young child unprotected by his natural parents.

  Fortunately, Hassan’s daughter, Mari (aka Marijah), and her husband, Tom Sutherland, stepped into the breach and volunteered to adopt Karim informally, much to Hassan’s relief.

  Mari and Tom had 2 daughters aged 12 and 8. The Sutherland family were resident in Dubai where Tom, who was British by birth, worked as a partner in an international law firm.

  Hassan assured the Sutherlands that he would make available to them substantial financial assistance to take care of Karim’s maintenance, education and security – he was sure it was the least he could do.

  It was decided that Mari and Tom would tell their daughters and friends they had decided to adopt a baby boy whose parents had died. They would say they had always wanted a son but that Mari had not been able to have any additional children of her own, so adoption was the only way forward.

  Over the next few weeks and months, they looked after Karim and bonded with him in the same way as his natural parents would have done, had they survived.

  Mari and Tom resolved to treat Karim with as much love and care as they had treated their daughters, and Karim responded by being happy and healthy.

  Rod had been devastated by Caroline’
s untimely death and it wasn’t until 10 days afterwards that he managed to recover his composure enough to socialise and start living again.

  Financially he knew he would be secure as Hassan had arranged some time ago for Rod to be on his payroll, following HMG stopping his salary after the verdict of accidental death by the Italian Coroner’s Court.

  With regard to his employment by Hassan, there was an unspoken condition that Rod would keep a low profile and not publicise at all his role in protecting Caroline during her pregnancy.

  Two weeks after Caroline’s death, Rod sent a text to Smiffy, whose number had been given to him by Caroline.

  The text read:

  Dear Marigold Smith. I very much regret to inform you that Caroline died 2 weeks ago giving birth. Unfortunately the baby – a boy – also died. Please give my condolences to Prince Richard – I will try and get in touch again if or when I get back to London.

  Kind regards, Roderick (Caroline’s minder)

  Underneath the tough exterior, Rod was a kind hearted man and the reason he lied about the baby was to protect him from unwanted attention. He had no way of knowing how Smiffy or Richard might react to the knowledge that Richard had an infant half brother. Rod therefore decided to play safe.

  Rod never did return to London – he decided to cut loose – changed his surname, grew a beard and worked in security at various locations in the Middle East over the following couple of years.

  Sadly he was killed in a shoot out with Islamist kidnappers who had targeted a wealthy businessman who Rod was contracted to protect.

  Hassan arranged for the recovery of his body to Morocco, where he was cremated, in the presence only of Hassan plus Zaid, his wife and daughters.

  Hassan paid for the Sutherlands and Karim to have a minder, Mike, who was not told about Karim’s real parentage.