Type the name “Amanda Staveley” into an internet search engine and the first links you will find have a recurring theme: “Prince Andrew inseparable from new love”; “Andrew jilted by his 'future bride'”; “Why marrying into The Firm isn't a right royal lark”; and a new one: “Prince's ex-girlfriend to become director of Liverpool Football Club”.

It was inevitable that Staveley's colourful background would be explored and uncovered after she emerged yesterday as a central figure in the prospective takeover of Liverpool by Dubai International Capital (DIC). An associate of the 34-year-old private equity specialist winced at the mention of the liaison with Prince Andrew. “It was four or five years ago,” the associate said. “Prince Andrew wanted her to marry him, she didn't want to marry him. End of story.”

The end of that supposed fairytale, yes, and just about the end of her appearances in the society gossip columns, but that was not the end of the Amanda Staveley story. Although a one-time model - briefly, apparently, and at her grandmother's insistence - she was not just a pretty face looking to catch the eye of a divorced prince. On the contrary, she was an intelligent, ambitious woman intent on making a name for herself in the finance world, something that she has succeeded in doing.

Staveley chose not to marry into the British Royal Family, but over the course of an acquaintance dating back to the mid-1990s, she has earned the unswerving trust of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, whose DIC investment vehicle is hoping to buy Liverpool. As a senior partner in PCP, a London-based private equity firm, she has been instructed to lead negotiations with Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr, the club's owners, and, according to sources, has been told by Sheikh Mohammed to “get it done”.

If she succeeds, Staveley, the daughter of a wealthy Yorkshire landowner, will be given an influential position in the Liverpool boardroom, helping to oversee the day-to-day running of the club alongside a chief executive and, according to DIC sources, “the best football brains in the country”. Her football experience is minimal, but she is described as an enthusiastic fan - of whom, it is not clear.

“What she is is an outstanding individual,” her associate said. “If she was not, Sheikh Mohammed would not trust her so implicitly. It would be fair to say that there is no non-Arab that he trusts as much as he trusts Amanda.”

No one is sure how that trust developed but it is a reasonable bet that they met through their mutual love of horse racing, with Staveley having been seen regularly at Newmarket, where the English stables of the Sheikh's Godolphin operation are based, and Royal Ascot.

Earlier in her business career, having left Cambridge University before completing her degree, she started what became a successful restaurant, Stocks, just down the road from Newmarket, filling in as part-time chef and waitress when necessary. Within four years she bought the £10 million Q.ton conference centre in Cambridge Science Park that was soon valued at £18 million.

Her fortunes briefly slumped after the dotcom bubble burst and she was served with a bankruptcy petition over a £62,000 rent bill at her flat in Mayfair, Central London, but her stock has risen exponentially again and suddenly, at the behest of one of the world's wealthiest men, this one-time prospective princess is dreaming of becoming Queen of Anfield.

The main players as Anfield takeover saga goes into extra time

Tom Hicks

The big, brash Texan is easily cast as the villain of the piece, but he insists that he is trying to undo the damage of the past 13 months and do the right thing for Liverpool. He would love to buy out George Gillett Jr and is confident that he will soon have the funds - or the backing - to do so, but Dubai International Capital (DIC) believes that difficult financial conditions will force him to sell.

Priority

To buy out Gillett; failing that, to sell for the highest possible price.

George Gillett Jr

The owner of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey franchise was the catalyst to the original takeover, but he has been marginalised - or has marginalised himself - since Hicks emerged as the dominant partner. The two have clashed numerous times and Gillett wants to sell up. He would prefer not to sell to Hicks, but sources in the United States believe that the Texan's influence in American industry could force him to do so.

Priority

Maximum profit on his initial investment.

David Moores

The former chairman is deeply upset by the consequences of his choice of buyers last year, feeling that he made a mistake and that the club have suffered as a result. As honorary life-president, he retains a visible presence at Anfield but has effectively been left powerless, even if he helped to persuade Hicks to rethink his plan to load £350 million of debt on to the club.

Priority

For the club to get back to “the Liverpool way” under new ownership.

Rick Parry

Like Moores, the chief executive regrets the decision to go with the Americans rather than DIC 13 months ago. Having fallen out with Hicks (but not Gillett), his future is bleak if the Texan stays in control. Nor is he certain to be retained in the long term by DIC if its bid is successful. Nevertheless, he is thought to be fully behind DIC in the belief that it can bring stability to Anfield.

Priority

If not to survive then to ensure that the club are in the right hands.

Rafael Benítez

Far from detached from the power struggle, the Liverpool manager has thrust himself into the middle of it, at times sailing close to the wind. Clashed bitterly with Hicks and Gillett in November but has since cosied up to the former while ensuring that DIC knows that he would be happy to work with it if its takeover bid is successful.

Priority

To ensure that he is in charge next season, with lots of money to spend on players.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum

As the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, the ruler of Dubai and one of the world's richest men, the Sheikh is, it would be fair to say, a powerful individual. He was not 100 per cent behind DIC's original bid to buy Liverpool and was instrumental in pulling the plug on the deal, but this time, critically, he is said to be 100 per cent committed to the new bid.

Priority

To add England's most successful football club to DIC's impressive portfolio.

Sameer al-Ansari

Like many of the overseas players who have signed for the club over the past decade, the Kuwait-born, British-educated chief executive of DIC talks up his credentials as a Liverpool fan. He was in the crowd when Liverpool lifted the European Cup in Istanbul in 2005, when the seeds of DIC's original takeover bid were sown, and was distraught when he was gazumped by Hicks and Gillett. He is determined to succeed this time.

Priority

To become a significant player in the Anfield boardroom.