Harrod's
Harrod's was founded in 1835 in what was then a semi-rural location. 150 years later the al-Fayed brothers bought the store for 615 million pounds. The owner, Mohammad al-Fayed, is perhaps best known for being the father of Dodi al-Fayed, who is definitely best known for being Princess Diana's last lover and being in the car with her when it impacted a concrete pillar. As an interesting note - of the four people in the car, only one wore a seatbelt. Despite being the one sitting closest to the point of impact, that belt saved the life of Trevor Rees-Jones, Dodi's bodyguard.
2006-09-15 13:08
Mohammed al-Fayed has tried, in vain, to obtain British citizenship for the last 20 years. There's a factoid out of nowhere for you.
Harrod's has tried, with much success, to obtain British money for the last 200 years (almost). The prices in Harrod's are high - on the lower floor you can only occasionally find price stickers: "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" as the saying goes...