Sheikh’s son pays £1.4m for camel

Dubai’s crown prince has bought a camel for an unprecedented high price of £1.4 million during a desert festival in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the son of Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed and his heir apparent, bought 16 camels for £2.3 million during a camel beauty pageant taking place at a desert carnival that aims to preserve the nomadic way of life in the oil-rich Gulf.

That included £1.4 million for one camel.

There was no indication what Sheikh Hamdan would use the camel for, including whether he would race it.

More than 17,000 camels from the oil-rich Gulf countries – the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain – were registered for a camel beauty contest taking place over two weeks in the Emirates’ Western desert.

Camels are registered for beauty contest in several categories, defined by age and skin colour.