Brunei Royal Palace and Court


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book on protocol & etiquette of the court

dear all,

is there a book available on the etiquette and protocol of the palace?
how do we conduct ourselves in the midst of royalty?
how to address each one of them according to their rank?
i think every royal household has different customs...no?
i hope that somebody can help me with this.:king:
 
I'm sure they have rules about etiqquette and protocol but I'm not sure if the book is published. Maybe, besides the royals themselves, they have it for their staff.
 
Protocol is set of rules for more official occasions. A form of formalised etiquette with very stiff procedures. While there are many intersting books on the subject, I have never come across any that specialize in a royal court or in royal courts in general. You will find a few rules on how to entertain and be entertained by British royalty in Debrett's Etiquette and Modern Manners. The book PROTOCOL (Mary Jane McCaffree) has many of the standard protocol rules that are applied in official entertainment, but it is an American book and is very specific to the White House protocol.
I sincerely doubt that any royal court would have a book. It is really a set of rules that are more or less passed down from person to person. Sure, they probably have some written lists etc... however in general the protocol is coordinated very much with the ministries of foreign affaires, as it is most visible during state visits and in conjunction with trips. For local events the rules are normally sent by the royal court / royal chamberlain to whomever will do the receiving of the royals. (Theatres, factories, schools, and even individuals). It is also normal procedure to send detailed information to anyone who has an invitation by someone at the royal court. Once you arrive at the palace, there will be designated persons who will assist you with everything such as when and how to bow or curtsie, how to address the royal and so on...
I hope this was helpful....
 
dear ghroyal,

thank you very much for your reply. very much appreciated! :clap:
 
how about the sultan's sons&daughters? are they living with him or do they have their own 'palaces'?
 
The Istana Nurul Iman palace is the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. The palace is located on a leafy, riverside sprawl of hills on the banks of the Brunei River directly south of Brunei's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, no more than a few miles outside the city center. It is the largest residential palace in the world and the world's largest residence of any type. It was designed by the National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture, Leandro V. Locsin and built by Filipino firm, Ayala International.

Istana Nurul Iman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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It's along time that i can get back hare,greeting to all of you ! I spent sometime to work on my Table decoration and print the Royal pics for exposition in my galary, May you have good luck !:wub:
 
The Istana Nurul Iman palace is the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. The palace is located on a leafy, riverside sprawl of hills on the banks of the Brunei River directly south of Brunei's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, no more than a few miles outside the city center. It is the largest residential palace in the world and the world's largest residence of any type. It was designed by the National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture, Leandro V. Locsin and built by Filipino firm, Ayala International.

Istana Nurul Iman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

thanx for that great answer denmarck!:flowers:
some things are more clear now!:)
 
dear all,

is there a book available on the etiquette and protocol of the palace?
how do we conduct ourselves in the midst of royalty?
how to address each one of them according to their rank?
i think every royal household has different customs...no?
i hope that somebody can help me with this.:king:

i don't know if it applies also to royalty, but i found some kind of "behaviour rules" :ermm:
on second thought, i guess it does, especially in royalty, behaviour is important!;)

Brunei profile - For Australian exporters - Austrade

ps: it's under "doing business" :)
 
The Istana Nurul Iman palace is the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. The palace is located on a leafy, riverside sprawl of hills on the banks of the Brunei River directly south of Brunei's capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, no more than a few miles outside the city center. It is the largest residential palace in the world and the world's largest residence of any type. It was designed by the National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture, Leandro V. Locsin and built by Filipino firm, Ayala International.

Istana Nurul Iman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Thanks for the information!:flowers: I couldn't find these informations! You are the best!:flowers:
 
The Sultan's private bedroom is just under the Golden Dome? Oh my God! It must totally massive!!! :eek: Maybe as big as a football field! And maybe bigger than that. Oh my.. I am speechless!
 
As far as I know, the crown princess and the crown prince are living at Istana Nurul Iman, they do have a 4 or five bedroom appartment in the palace...at least this was told by the mother of the crown princess in a swiss magazine after the wedding.

Actually from a popular commercial area in the capital, you can see the new extension of the palace for the Crown Prince and his wife. I don't think it is a 4 or 5 bedroom apartment, but maybe 4 or 5 floors! Looks more like a lavish hotel.
 
I can say the interior of the Palace is unimaginably majestic! I have personally been invited and have attended a couple of His Majesty's Birthday celebrations on both the morning award & title ceremonies and the evening dinners. Besides that, i have been lucky enough to attend a few of Prince Maleek's birthday parties because I used to go to the same school with him.

The Palace is Massive in size. If i'm not mistaken there is 3 or 4 floors of underground basement parking lots. and another 5 stories above this. His Majesty is really generous in inviting High-end officials and their children (above the age of 13) and also distant relatives of the Royal Bloodline (ie. Pengirans; these are the very distant relatives from great great great grandfathers which they share with the Sultan). So therefore these basement levels are reserved for official dignitaries vehicles (+police escourt vehicles) and other royalty vehicles. So we are assigned to park at the base of the Palace Hill and catch a coach that drives us up to the "Unofficial Entryways" (the back doors; this is far from the OFFICIAL Entryways but closer to the function area).

Yes the parking space for visitors alone is huge. But His Majesty's private garage is MASSIVE. I think the size is about half of the length of the main palace building alone. Seriously, there are at least a thousand cars parked there. There are buggies to take you from one of the garage entrances to where ever your car is. I've got pictures here but sorry, can't post it up. :D
 
dear all,

is there a book available on the etiquette and protocol of the palace?
how do we conduct ourselves in the midst of royalty?
how to address each one of them according to their rank?
i think every royal household has different customs...no?
i hope that somebody can help me with this.:king:
Actually there is, a 774-pages book called The Royal Brunei Customs and Protocol, or in Malay "Adat Istiadat DiRaja Brunei". You can buy it at the State Customs and Protocal Department. Tells every single thing you want to know about customs and protocol of Brunei.

How about Pengiran Isteri Azrinaz???

She lives in Istana Nurul Iman, the Official Palace.:eek:
At the moment yes. But currently the Sultan is building a $55 million "palace", up the hills right in front of Istana Nurul Iman.
 
Do you still keep in touch with Prince Maleek or any members of the royal family?

Yes, His Majesty resides in the Istana Nurul Iman (Palace). There is a big Golden Dome under which the Sultan's whole Master Suite/Bedroom is. That Dome is the exact size of his private bedroom alone.

I can say the interior of the Palace is unimaginably majestic! I have personally been invited and have attended a couple of His Majesty's Birthday celebrations on both the morning award & title ceremonies and the evening dinners. Besides that, i have been lucky enough to attend a few of Prince Maleek's birthday parties because I used to go to the same school with him.

The Palace is Massive in size. If i'm not mistaken there is 3 or 4 floors of underground basement parking lots. and another 5 stories above this. His Majesty is really generous in inviting High-end officials and their children (above the age of 13) and also distant relatives of the Royal Bloodline (ie. Pengirans; these are the very distant relatives from great great great grandfathers which they share with the Sultan). So therefore these basement levels are reserved for official dignitaries vehicles (+police escourt vehicles) and other royalty vehicles. So we are assigned to park at the base of the Palace Hill and catch a coach that drives us up to the "Unofficial Entryways" (the back doors; this is far from the OFFICIAL Entryways but closer to the function area).

I remember once where the que's for the Coache's were so long we decided to just go and walk up the hill. Wrong decision, it actually took us 20minutes to walk up the hill. (It didn't seem that far when we rode on the Coache's)

I hope this gives you an idea of how big the Palace is. Hope its been much help to your curiousity :rolleyes:
 
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visiting the istana during hari raya festival

My experience was a few years back. A friend works in Brunei and invited me and a mutual friend to the Hari Raya festival there. We went on the third day. The first day is not open to the public because that's when the royal family entertain friends. I got to see the main hall, very opulent and huge, where we stayed for around 3 hours waiting to shake the hand of the Queen and some of the Princesses. I think it can hold at least 3,000 people. Then we moved to a much smaller room where the Queen and the princesses were. I think they were 6 of them, but 2 were already seated and did not greet the visitors (I guess they were exhausted because one of the older princesses was shaking her hand out of exhaustion). The Queen still had a huge smile after greeting thousands of guests. After greeting and shaking the hand of the Queen and the princesses (you can't linger because a female aide kept on saying, "please hurry"), we all went to a cafeteria where lunch was served. Amazing and plenty of choices (buffet set up). After that, the palace staff gave out coupons, which served as claim stubs for souvenirs. That year (2015) it was a yellow metal box with delicious carrot cake and a Hari Raya card from the Sultan. The kids also got a money envelope. Everything was in order, no fuss, despite the throngs of people coming in and out. Buses were there to bring the visitors to and from the main gates. Oh, and people were allowed to stroll in the palace gardens but they did not allow photos outside and inside the room where the Queen and princesses were. It is a nice experience and we even saw the Sultan and some of the princes crossing the hall (they finished the morning meet and greet session ahead of the female members of the family). They also smiled and waved. The Sultan's two youngest children were with him. Dress code: no jeans or shorts, with long sleeves top. You only greet/briefly meet the members of the family of the same sex/gender. It's a very nice experience and I don't mind waiting for 3 hours again should I go back.

My friend, who used to work as one of the royal family's flight's attendants, said the palace help are contracted from a hotel chain - can't remember now if from Hilton or Holiday Inn. And the royal family clears out their pantries and rooms regularly - staff members are free to take the food, furniture, etc.
 
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My experience was a few years back. A friend works in Brunei and invited me and a mutual friend to the Hari Raya festival there. We went on the third day. The first day is not open to the public because that's when the royal family entertain friends. I got to see the main hall, very opulent and huge, where we stayed for around 3 hours waiting to shake the hand of the Queen and some of the Princesses. I think it can hold at least 3,000 people. Then we moved to a much smaller room where the Queen and the princesses were. I think they were 6 of them, but 2 were already seated and did not greet the visitors (I guess they were exhausted because one of the older princesses was shaking her hand out of exhaustion). The Queen still had a huge smile after greeting thousands of guests. After greeting and shaking the hand of the Queen and the princesses (you can't linger because a female aide kept on saying, "please hurry"), we all went to a cafeteria where lunch was served. Amazing and plenty of choices (buffet set up). After that, the palace staff gave out coupons, which served as claim stubs for souvenirs. That year (2015) it was a yellow metal box with delicious carrot cake and a Hari Raya card from the Sultan. The kids also got a money envelope. Everything was in order, no fuss, despite the throngs of people coming in and out. Buses were there to bring the visitors to and from the main gates. Oh, and people were allowed to stroll in the palace gardens but they did not allow photos outside and inside the room where the Queen and princesses were. It is a nice experience and we even saw the Sultan and some of the princes crossing the hall (they finished the morning meet and greet session ahead of the female members of the family). They also smiled and waved. The Sultan's two youngest children were with him. Dress code: no jeans or shorts, with long sleeves top. You only greet/briefly meet the members of the family of the same sex/gender. It's a very nice experience and I don't mind waiting for 3 hours again should I go back.

My friend, who used to work as one of the royal family's flight's attendants, said the palace help are contracted from a hotel chain - can't remember now if from Hilton or Holiday Inn. And the royal family clears out their pantries and rooms regularly - staff members are free to take the food, furniture, etc.
Wow, it's a great experience !
 
Wow, it's a great experience !

It is and Hari Raya is the best time to visit. Not only is the palace open to visitors but many locals also welcome visitors/tourists to their homes. My friend and I got to visit three homes of locals. I cannot forget the graciousness and sincere smile of the Queen. And her kind aura. From all accounts, she is very much beloved by the people of Brunei.
 
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It is and Hari Raya is the best time to visit. Not only is the palace open to visitors but many locals also welcome visitors/tourists to their homes. My friend and I got to visit three homes of locals. I cannot forget the graciousness and sincere smile of the Queen. And her kind aura. From all accounts, she is very much beloved by the people of Brunei.
The Queen seems to be a very nice person.
 
Hi! Where do the members of the Royal Family live? As far as I know the Sultan and the Queen live at Istana Nurul Iman but I'm not sure about the rest of the family members. His brothers and sisters have several palaces each one but what about his daughters? Do they have their own palaces too? The only one from his first wife who is not married, Princess Muta-Wakkilah, lives with her parents? Qashr Al-Meezaan is the Palace of the Crown Prince? I know it seems too many questions but I'd be surprised to know that very few members of the Royal Family members live at Istana Nurul Iman being this the biggest residential palace in the world.
 
What is the residence of the crown prince and his family?
 
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