Former Princess of Qatar found dead in Spain

Kasia Gallanio had fought a bitter legal battle over custody of her children with her ex-husband, Qatar’s former oil and finance minister. The 45-year-old has now been found dead in Marbella.

Kasia Gallanio, the former Princess of Qatar, is dead. As reported by Spanish and French media, the police found her body on Sunday morning in her home in Marbella, Spain. Gallanio was 45 years old.

Gallanio, an American of Polish descent, was married to Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the uncle of the Emir of Qatar. The two met in Paris and are now divorced. She was the third wife of Al-Thani. The 73-year-old has lived in exile in France since 1992.

First guess as to the cause of death

According to the reports, the police were informed of their absence by a daughter of Gallanio last Sunday. She tried in vain to contact her mother for four days.

According to initial findings, a drug overdose could have been the cause of death. The police could not find any traces of violence on Gallanio’s body, the Spanish newspaper “El Mundo” reported. “Le Parisien” wrote that an autopsy had been ordered.

Serious allegations against her ex-husband

Gallanio had fought a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband for many years. Among other things, she accused him of sexually abusing her youngest daughter.

The French judiciary had recently dismissed Gallanio’s applications pending a psychological report. The father has so far vehemently denied the allegations. In court, he accused his former wife of being an alcoholic.

Gallanio and Qatar’s former oil and finance minister have three daughters together: the youngest is 15, the two eldest are twins and are 17 years old.