text: Last week Qatar's Constellation Group sensationally snapped up a majority stake in the company that owns Claridge's, the Connaught and the Berkeley Hotel. The eye-catching purchase was just the latest made by the Qatari ruling family, who for the past eight years have been quietly buying up prestigious properties – including the Shard – in an attempt to win a place in the British Establishment. They now boast a property portfolio worth an estimated £740 million, and have spent £11.6 billion collecting trophy assets in the UK. Just last week their sovereign wealth fund snapped up Canary Wharf for £2.6 billion. Last year, the oil-rich country became the first commercial sponsor of Royal Ascot. And the £100 million restoration of Dudley House, the UK's most expensive house, was completed this year. The Gulf State may have been accused of helping to fund Islamic extremists and bribing officials to host the 2022 World Cup – both charges denied, of course. But as this investigation shows, London is rapidly becoming Qataropolis… . Cornwall Terrace, Marylebone . Current estimated value - £200 million . One Cornwall Terrace was snapped up in 2011 by a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The two adjoining Cornwall Terrace properties were purchased two years later by an offshore firm in the Isle of Man. The properties have now been knocked into one mega-mansion, and belong to Her Royal Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, the wife of the former Emir. One Hyde Park, Knightsbridge . Current estimated value – £150 million . Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani purchased three apartments at One Hyde Park – including the luxury penthouse – for an estimated £120 million back in 2008. Known as 'HBJ', Sheikh Hamad was the prime minister of Qatar between 2007 and 2013, and the country's foreign minister for 11 years before that. The Gulf state's rulers converted three prime properties on Cornwall Terrace in London's Regent's Park into a huge mansion worth £200million . Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani purchased three apartments at One Hyde Park – including the luxury penthouse – for an estimated £120 million back in 2008 . Park Street, Mayfair . Current estimated value - £13 million . This property, which was snapped up for £11.6 million last year, is somewhat confusingly registered under multiple names. Several of the listed owners are women, including Aisha Ahmad Jabor Al Ahmad Al Thani, Alanoud Ahmad Jabor Ahmed Al Thani, and Dada Ahmad Jabor Al Ahmad Al Thaniqa. They are believed to be relatives of Sheikh Ahmad Jabor Al Ahmad Al Thani. Davies Street, Mayfair . Current estimated value – £12 million . His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed Bin Fahed Al Thani bought this mansion in June 2014 for £9,450,000. A director of Qatar Airways, the Sheikh graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in 1976 and was appointed chief of military police in 1977, before going on to found the country's special forces units. He has since held several prominent positions in the Qatari government. This property, which was snapped up for £11.6 million last year, is somewhat confusingly registered under multiple names . His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed Bin Fahed Al Thani bought this mansion in Davies Street, Mayfair, for £9,450,000 in June 2014 . Fulmer Rise, Fulmer . Current estimated value - £8 million . This Victorian red-brick manor in the Buckinghamshire village of Fulmer was purchased in March last year for an eye-watering £7,075,000. The property is registered in the names of four different Al Thani sheikhs, who are believed to be from the Sharjah branch of the Qatari ruling family. One of the riskier Al Thanis, who goes by the name of Moe, is a self-styled adventurer who has climbed Mount Everest. Trevor Place, Knightsbridge . Current estimated value – £40 million . These were originally two separate properties in Knightsbridge – one on Trevor Place and one on Trevor Square. They were purchased together for £29.2 million last year by Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Faisal Al Thani, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Bin Jassiam Al Thani and Sheikh Mohamed Hamad Bin Jassim Al Thani – all senior members of the ruling family. The site is now one property. Sheikh Al Thani converted two separate properties in Knightsbridge – one on Trevor Place and one on Trevor Square - into £40million home . Curzon Street, Mayfair . Current estimated value – £50 million . Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Hamad Al Thani, who was at one point the deputy prime minister of Qatar, purchased this Curzon Street mansion for a staggering £37.5 million in 2006 using an offshore firm registered in Jersey to complete the deal. The imposing corner mansion, a stone's throw away from Park Lane, was sold with the benefit of a 125-year lease. Belgrave Square, Belgravia . Current estimated value – £80 million . The brother of the Emir, who plays a key international role as his 'personal representative', bought this double-fronted mansion in 2009. The property has been described as a 'jewel in their crown', and its value has leapt over the past six years. Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani's house is now worth around £80 million. Good thing he bought it with a 125-year lease then. Park Lane, Mayfair . Current estimated value – £100 million . Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani bought Dudley House for £22,410,000, and it has undergone an extensive six-year refurbishment. The house is packed with expensive art and is run like Downton Abbey. Staff wear white tie and tails for lavish dinner parties at what is now the largest and most expensive home in the UK – a place that allegedly caused the Queen to remark that it made Buckingham Palace look 'rather dull' by comparison. At the tender age of 33, the wealthy owner is the first cousin of the current Emir of Qatar and the nephew of the previous Emir. Sheikh Al Thani, who was at one point the deputy prime minister of Qatar, purchased this Curzon Street mansion for a staggering £37.5 million in 2006 using an offshore firm registered in Jersey to complete the deal . The brother of the Emir, who plays a key international role as his 'personal representative', bought this double-fronted mansion in 2009 . Staff wear white tie and tails for lavish dinner parties at what is now the largest and most expensive home in the UK – a place that allegedly caused the Queen to remark that it made Buckingham Palace look 'rather dull' by comparison .
target: The Qatari ruling family boasts a prestigious property portfolio in Britain worth an estimated £740 million .
  They have been quietly buying up trophy properties – including the Shard in London – over the past eight years .
  Qatar's Constellation Group bought  a majority stake in company that owns Claridge's and the Connaught last week .
  Family have spent £11.6 billion buying empire and sovereign wealth fund snapped up Canary Wharf for £2.6 billion .