The death of a former Qatari princess: Kasia Gallanio, 45, found in her apartment

Tragic and mysterious: that's the death of Kasia Gallanio, the ex-wife of a Qatari prince. The body of the 45-year-old woman was found at her home in the Spanish coastal city of Marbella.

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Kasia Gallanio was of Polish origin but had been born in Los Angeles, California. She had married Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the uncle of the emir of Qatar, in 2004.

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Al-Thani was 28 years older than Kasia Gallanio. He lived in Paris after retiring from his ministerial tasks in Qatar in the 1990s. Gallanio became his third wife, enjoyed a happy marriage among the European jet-set for a few years, and then got divorced.

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On May 29, 2022, members of the Spanish National Police found Kasia Gallanio's lifeless body in her Marbella home. The news of her death was reported by the French paper Le Parisien on May 31.

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The tragic discovery of her body was made after Kasia Gallanio's daughter had contacted the police and authorized them to enter her mother's house. She had been unable to locate Gallanio for four days and was worried about her wellbeing.

As reported by the newspaper El Mundo, the Spanish National Police did not find any signs of violence in Gallanio's house.

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Pending the autopsy, Le Parisien suggests that a substance overdose could be the cause of Kasia Gallanio's death.

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Gallanio and the prince had three daughters together. For years, they bitterly fought to get custody over the children: 17-year-old twins and a younger sister of 15.

French media report that there has been a court battle between Gallanio and the prince since 2012.

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According to Le Parisien, Abdelaziz bin Khalifa Al-Thani faces a charge that he abused one of his daughters. The prince has always denied this accusation.

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It was the child herself who made the accusation, which led the Paris Prosecutor's Office to open a specific investigation into the matter.

Despite the tensions, and the accusations in court, the couple's three daughters live with their father in Paris. They inhabit a spectacular mansion on the exclusive Avenue Montaigne in the French capital.

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Gala magazine claims that Al-Thani got custody of his three daughters because Gallanio allegedly had drinking problems. Le Parisien adds that she had to spend several months in hospital at the end of 2021.

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Due to her continued nervous breakdowns, as well as the several times she underwent detoxification, the Paris Judicial Court adjourned the case until a psychological evaluation of Gallanio was on the table.

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Gala magazine suggests that the bitter and protracted battle in the courts with her ex-husband would have led Kasia Gallanio into a deep depression. The disease may have influenced the fatal outcome.

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Indeed, Kasia Gallanio's lawyer, Sabrina Boesch, told Le Parisien that her client "died of grief," referring to the judge's decision to withdraw the custody of her daughters.

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The lawyer accompanied Gallanio's two eldest daughters, Yasmeen and Malak, as they identified their mother's body.

Photo: @kashounia, Instagram