As Syria Burns, Assad's British-born Wife Goes On £270,000 Online Shopping Spree and Imports Chandeliers, Rugs, Sofas, Tables and Eleven Ottomans from London

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: Asma al-Assad, 36, placed the order with exclusive London store DN Designs in the King's Road, Chelsea, West London / Among the 130 items were 11 ottomans costing over £20,000, a dining room table priced at almost £10,000 and a rug worth just under £11,000

She has been dubbed the Princess Diana of the Middle East, combining beauty and style with tireless charity work.

In a region blighted by dictatorships and conflicts, the First Lady of Syria, Asma al-Assad, was billed as the modern and caring face of the Arab world.

But emails obtained by WikiLeaks show Mrs Assad, 36, spent £270,000 buying furniture from an exclusive London store for one of her presidential palaces last March – as Syria was descending into a bloody civil war.

British-born Mrs Assad sent her order – which included five chandeliers costing £8,800 – to upmarket furniture store DN Designs in the King’s Road, Chelsea, West London.

The emails, seen exclusively by The Mail on Sunday, emerged as more than 200 people were believed to have been massacred by government forces in the village of Tremseh last Thursday. » | Abul Taheer | Sunday, July 15, 2012