Vile abuse, vicious beatings and constant intimidation from the religious police: Shocking extent of cruel treatment meted out to expat staff by Saudi royals revealed

When Cay Garcia, a fifty-something from Cape Town, was offered a well-paid job working for a princess from Saudi Arabia's ruling dynasty, she jumped at the chance.

But less than four months after she arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh, she was hustled on to a plane and thrown out of the country - all because she stood up to her abusive employer.

Now back in South Africa, she has written a book laying bare her experiences at the hands of the Saudi royals - and sheds light on a side of Riyadh life that is rarely seen by outsiders.

Poorly treated: Cay saw the princess' Filipino servants being cruelly treated and subjected to vicious beatings

In charge: King Abdullah is the current ruler of Saudi Arabia and ascended to the Saudi throne in 2005

'Life in Riyadh for a woman is harsh,' she explains. 'A single woman cannot even go for a coffee on her own - it's deemed immoral.

'You are allowed to walk around a mall but walking around one's neighbourhood for exercise is heavily frowned upon.'

Difficult though living up to Saudi Arabia's strict moral code proved - a code enforced by religious police known as the Mutawa - her difficulties were nothing compared to what she would experience within the palace itself.

There, as the head of a team of five staff members including two Malawians and two Filipinos, she was forced to watch as the princess, who Cay has decided not to identify, doled out harsh punishments that included beatings and having their rooms turned upside down, in addition to dealing with the capricious moods of the princess herself.

'In the beginning the princess seemed to be on her best behaviour although the abuse escalated over time,' she remembers.

'It was difficult, at times, not to retaliate when the princess, who was half my age, was screaming at me and telling me what an imbecile I was because she didn't approve of the shoes I was wearing.'

Although Cay herself was never physically harmed by the princess, the other maids - the Filipinos in particular - regularly found themselves at the sharp end of the royal's terrifying temper.

Worse still, thanks to the iqama identity card system which means foreigners cannot leave the country without permission from their employers, both Filipinos remain trapped in Saudi Arabia more than two years after their contracts ended.

'The Filipinos aren't held in high regard by Saudis in general,' admits Cay. 'I have the utmost respect for these people  - not only for their work ethics and for being on call 24/7 without a single day off but also for having the capacity to take the abuse meted out in their stride.'

Abusive: Princess Buniah al-Saud was arrested in Florida in 2001 and accused of beating her servant

Difficult: Life for women isn't always easy in Saudi who are forbidden to drive among other things

One of the worst incidents witnessed by Cay involved the princess telling one maid to fetch a bucket of ice, tip it over her head and stand outside her room, dripping and cold, for the entire night.

'Apart from the stories the staff shared with me and the severe bruising I saw following beatings from the princess, this was probably the worst thing I witnessed,' adds Cay.

'The abuse is very real and it happens behind closed doors. The public personas of the royals compared to what they are like when no one is looking are worlds apart.'

As for the exit visas, Cay says they are a part of life in Saudi Arabia and all expats working there, including those from the UK, have to have them.

'You get issued a identity card called an iqama soon after your arrival that is carried with you at all times,' she explains.

'Everything you do, from buying laptops to your marital status and renting an apartment is documented on this card. Even traffic offences for men.

Work place: Riyadh has several royal palaces but the biggest and most important belongs to King Abdullah

'No one "escapes" from Saudi Arabia as you can only leave once your employer grants you an exit visa and hands your passport back which gets taken away when you arrive.

'There are thousands of expats working in Saudi and the iqama is a form of control.There'spoint being outraged by them - it's something you have to accept.'

One thing Garcia couldn't accept, however, was the complete control exercised by her boss over every aspect of her life - including being told details of private conversations between her and her doctor.

Days after telling her doctor of her unhappiness in Saudi Arabia, Cay was confronted by her employer - furious at what she saw as a betrayal.

'It was a lesson in not trusting anyone in Saudi,' says Cay, who describes the incident as the 'beginning of the end' of her time in the princess' employ.

'I trusted that I would be protected by patient confidentiality but it doesn't seem to exist over there.'

Restrictive: Saudi women are not allowed to do anything without a male relative's consent

Eventually, and after several more confrontations, Cay's contract was terminated by mutual agreement and she was given an exit visa - a courtesy still yet to be extended to the other domestic staff in the princess' employ.

Both relieved and upset, she had less than 24 hours to pack her things and say goodbye to the friends she had made among the expat community.

Harder still was saying goodbye to the colony of stray cats she had befriended, in particular because she had had no time to make arrangements for them.

'I hated the total lack of empathy when it comes to animals,' she adds. 'I am a passionate animal lover and found it really traumatising to see the thousands of stray, starving cats that gather around the dustbins in Riyadh.

'Cats are seen as pests in Saudi Arabia. A common practice is to round up as many cats as possible and then release them in the desert where they die horrible deaths.'

Yet despite her experiences, she says she would return to the region - and even Saudi Arabia itself, although not to the capital, Riyadh.

Striking: The soaring beauty of the Riyadh skyline conceals some very murky secrets

Memoir: Cay has written a book about her experiences called Behind Palace Walls

'I wouldn't go back to Riyadh but some of Saudi's coastal cities are much more relaxed,' she reveals.

'Riyadh is the most conservative city in the whole of the Middle East. Only black abayas are permitted in Riyadh whereas in the smaller cities, pastel colours are allowed. The Mutawa are also much more active in Riyadh.'

And what of the princess herself? Although Cay says she would never return to work for her, she does have some kind words for her former employer.

'From what the princess told me, there were many incidents, perceived or real, where she was hurt in her life.

'The princess also suffers from depression and is bi-polar, neither of which help matters, but, although it wasn't often seen, she has a nurturing side.

'She loves children as well and I think that part of the reason for her behaviour might be frustration at not being married and having babies of her own.'

She adds: 'My experience with the princess hasn't put me off the idea of working for a royal, although if I did take another contract, I'd prefer them to be older.

'I do feel very privileged to have seen a part of the world that is shut off to the rest of society and to have experienced first hand how things are done within the royal House of Saud.'

Even, it seems, if she didn't appreciate all of them. 

Cay's memoir, Behind Palace Walls: Life in the Service of a Saudi Princess, is published by Tafelberg Publishers Ltd and costs £10.95

DM