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Qatar princess follows only 1 Bollywood celeb on Insta. No, not SRK, Aish or Salman
Qatari princess Al Mayassa follows only one Bollywood actress on Instagram, and their friendship dates back to more than a decade.
Qatar princess Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani is one of the most visible faces of the Qatar royal family. As the daughter of Qatar’s former Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and the sister of the current Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, she is no stranger to fame.
Sheikha Al-Mayassa has over a million followers on Instagram, but she herself follows only a select few. In fact, the list of people she follows on Instagram is less than 500 - made up of world leaders, celebrities, Middle Eastern and European royals… and exactly one Bollywood actress.
Qatar princess follows Bollywood actress
Sheikha Al-Mayassa follows only one Bollywood actress on Instagram, and you’ll never guess who it is. No, it’s not Aishwarya Rai, Deepika Padukone or Priyanka Chopra - the Qatari princess follows Mallika Sherawat on Instagram.
Mallika Sherawat, best known for her breakthrough performance in the 2004 film Murder, is one of the few Bollywood actresses who has enjoyed successful outings in Hollywood too.
But why is she followed on Instagram by a Qatari princess? According to a 2010 FilmiBeat report, the actress met the Qatari royal in the United States years ago, when they were both invited to a convention. The two kept in touch and a friendship soon developed between them.
In fact, Mallika was the only Bollywood celebrity invited to the princess’s 2006 wedding. Back in 2010, she also attended the launch of Qatar’s Doha Film Institute in Cannes, France.
More about Sheikha Al-Mayassa
Sheikha Al-Mayassa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Literature from Duke University in 2005. The following year, she married her second cousin, Sheikh Jassim bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, in Doha. The couple have five children - four sons and one daughter.
Sheikha Al-Mayassa serves as Chairperson of Qatar Museums, a role in which she has overseen significant art acquisitions, including Paul Gauguin’s When Will You Marry? for $300 million and Paul Cézanne’s The Card Players for $250 million.
(Also read: Princess Caroline under fire for wearing ‘racist’ brooch that once sparked backlash against British royalty)
