Harrods was founded in 1834 as a wholesale grocery shop in the less than salubrious Stepney area of East London by Charles Henry Harrod, who had a special interest in tea.

He moved, in 1849, to a small shop on the site of the current store to escape the crime and vice of the East End, and to capitalise on trade from the Great Exhibition of 1851 in nearby Hyde Park.

The current store stands on a 4.5 acre site on Brompton Road in prestigious Knightsbridge, and has more than 1m square feet of selling space, spanning more than 330 departments.

Until 2010 it was owned by Mohamed al Fayed, who sold it for £1.5billion Mr al Fayed's decision to retire. 

Weeks earlier he insisted the exclusive Knightsbridge store was not up for sale - but reconsidered and agreed to an offer from the Qatari royal family. 

Harrods is not the only Western trophy asset to interest the Qatari royals.

The state investment arm also owns 26 per cent of Sainsburys, 

15 per cent of the London Stock Exchange, seven per cent of Barclays,

 and 24 per cent of Canary Wharf developer Songbird Estates. 

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A Police officer reprimands two female gypsies for repeatedly begging outside 

Harrods, and locals fear the problem will increase

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