The mother of twins born conjoined and later successfully separated has fondly remembered the day her sons’ remarkable journey “fascinated” Queen Elizabeth II during their meeting on her historic tour of the Republic of Ireland.
Hassan and Hussein Benhaffaf made headlines when they were born joined from chest to pelvis, sharing some vital organs, and with one leg each in December 2009.
At the age of 4 months, they beat odds of a million to one to survive a highly complex separation surgery at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital and became known as “the Little Fighters”.
Audiences across the world were captivated by the tots’ inspiring tale, and none other than the queen revealed she was one of those glued to her television screen.
Angie Benhaffaf introduced her sons to the monarch during her state visit to Ireland in 2011, a tour seen as a major milestone in strengthening Anglo-Irish relations.
“She showed a huge interest in the boys,” Mrs Benhaffaf told The National. “She was fascinated.
“She told me she had seen their story on the news. You kind of sometimes forget that royals are people who go home like the rest of us and put their feet up and watch TV.
“To hear that she had watched them with such interest and followed their progress was incredible. She wished them well and wanted the best outcome. It was a bit surreal.
“She was asking when I found out they were conjoined and what [organs] they shared. I told her how the boys got on during the separation in London and how the teams in Ireland and the UK co-operated and created this amazing result, being the survival of both of the boys. I explained to her about the risks and that the survival rate is quite low.
“She said they were very cute. It was just a lovely, positive meeting.”
No British monarch had visited Ireland in a century, making the queen the first to do so since the nation officially gained independence in 1922.
The sovereign was well received and won praise for speaking the native tongue during a speech at Dublin Castle where she was hosted by the Irish president. She also visited the Garden of Remembrance in the capital, which commemorates those who fought for Irish freedom.
Her meeting with the Benhaffaf twins, aged 17 months at the time and dressed in matching suits, symbolised the strengthening of Anglo-Irish relations following a history of unrest.
Their Algerian-born father As, 50, was watching the meeting on television at home with daughters Malika, now 18, and Iman, 15.
A framed picture of the queen, dressed in symbolic green for the "Emerald Isle", smiling at the toddlers now hangs in the Benhaffaf family home in east Cork to remind the 12-year-olds of their brush with royalty, because they have no recollection of the day.
Hussein managed to stay awake for his encounter with the British monarch, but the attention was too much for Hassan and he dozed off.
Dr Edward Kiely, from Cork, who led the team of experts in separating the boys at one of London’s leading hospitals, was by Mrs Benhaffaf’s side at the meeting with the queen.
“It was lovely for me to introduce him to the queen because I felt he had well and truly earned it,” Mrs Benhaffaf, 48, said.
“We had a nice little chat. I felt that she would have quite happily stayed longer if she was able to.
“At the end of the day, she was a grandmother herself and a mum herself and I felt I just saw that side of her. I was a mum who had gone through a traumatic birth and this was a lovely positive story to be able to tell her. I felt she spoke to me as a mother which was a gorgeous side to see.
“I’m just an ordinary mother with two extraordinary boys so I couldn’t understand how we had been chosen to meet her. It was a lovely honour.
“It’s also funny because the boys don’t remember it because they were so young. Down through the years, they would come from school and say someone told them they had met the queen and say: ‘Mum, have we really met the queen?’ I have to show them the picture.”
After Buckingham Palace announced that Britain’s longest-serving monarch had died at Balmoral on September 8, two soldiers lowered Ireland’s tricolour flag to half-staff at a government building in Dublin. The republic’s flag was also lowered as a mark of respect at Irish embassies around the world.
The Benhaffaf family said that they had been “sad to hear of her passing”.
More than a decade on from when they charmed the queen, Hassan and Hussein continue to thrive and are excelling at school and sports.
Last summer, they travelled to the UK to compete in the Disabled Sports England Junior Championship in Coventry, winning six medals, including golds for javelin, shot put and discus.
Now, the soon-to-be teenagers, who enjoy wheelchair basketball and swimming in their spare time, have their sights set on one day competing in the Paralympics.
“They make their mummy very proud,” Mrs Benhaffaf said.
“They are leading amazing lives and doing wonderful at school and in sports. I always had hope that they would.”
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Remaining Fixtures
Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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The specs: 2018 Audi R8 V10 RWS
Price: base / as tested: From Dh632,225
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 540hp @ 8,250rpm
Torque: 540Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L / 100km
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
Results
5pm: Reem Island – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Farasah, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
5.30pm: Sir Baniyas Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: SSR Ghazwan, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Astral Del Sol, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Al Maryah Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Toumadher, Dane O’Neill, Jaber Bittar
7pm: Yas Island – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Mukhrej, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Saadiyat Island – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,400m; Winner: Celestial Spheres, Gary Sanchez, Ismail Mohammed
FA Cup fifth round draw
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Reading/Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Shrewsbury Town/Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United/Oxford United
Leicester City v Coventry City/Birmingham City
Northampton Town/Derby County v Manchester United
Southampton/Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
Portsmouth v Arsenal
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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Duminy's Test career in numbers
Tests 46; Runs 2,103; Best 166; Average 32.85; 100s 6; 50s 8; Wickets 42; Best 4-47
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Fixtures
Opening day Premier League fixtures for August 9-11
August 9
Liverpool v Norwich 11pm
August 10
West Ham v Man City 3.30pm
Bournemouth v Sheffield Utd 6pm
Burnley v Southampton 6pm
C Palace v Everton 6pm
Leicester v Wolves 6pm
Watford v Brighton 6pm
Tottenham v Aston Villa 8.30pm
August 11
Newcastle v Arsenal 5pm
Man United v Chelsea 7.30pm
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
More on Quran memorisation:
The five pillars of Islam
Zayed Sustainability Prize
RESULT
Wolves 1 (Traore 67')
Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')
Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)
RESULTS
Women:
55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2
Men:
62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke
