Royalty of Brunei: News & Photos 2

[alfie]

Originally Posted by ~*~Humera~*~

I thought the Sultan's ex-wife was allowed to keep the title. Thanx for the clarification. So is she still on good terms with the Sultan and the Queen?
by the way, do you have any idea why they divorced?

Well! good terms as for divorced couple with children goes. When they divorced she was strip off all her titles. I would rather not say Humera, why do couples divorce in the first place?! I will let you think about it :)

[alfie]

Originally Posted by kinneret5764

Any recent pics of P. Sarah?

Just the one with the Brunei FA Cup winners I posted earlier. Sorry it isn't very clear though. It was taken from a distance to get everybody in the photo :)

[Zina]

Originally Posted by ~*~Humera~*~

I thought the Sultan's ex-wife was allowed to keep the title. Thanx for the clarification. So is she still on good terms with the Sultan and the Queen?
by the way, do you have any idea why they divorced?

The story at the time was, that his ex-wife, Mariam, was caught in bed with another man - A young, handsome, Indonesian singer. I can't verify how true that story is. But other stories also speculated that she was having an affair/s with other men.

Insiders say: That Mariam was set up for political reasons. She was never popular with H.M's family - Prince Mohammad, particularly, disliked her. It is said that he framed her, so that the Sultan would divorce her.

Another story is that Mariam was tired of the royal lifestyle, and wanted to be free of the golden cage. Her 3 grown up kids are studying in London and she wanted to join them there. Perhaps both factors led to the divorce.

Upon divorce, she was stripped of her title and all her jewellry that had been given to her when she married H.M. Some people think that some of that jewellry may have been passed onto Sarah, as part of her wedding gifts. After all, the Royals are cash strapped since the economic downturn and Prince Jefri's Amedeo crisis. Civil servants were forced to give money for the Crown Prince's Wedding. Private businesses were asked to sponsor money towards it.

The Sultan still visits Mariam's palace regularly, as he did when they were married. Although, she doesnt live there, but in a smaller residence, nearby. Apparently, they do lunch, play badminton and are friends. Hjh Mariam also tends to be in the same places as the Royal Family, whenever they travel - she went to perform the Umrah, in Saudi in 2003, the same time as the Sultan and Raja Isteri. Whether she was invited to be with them, or just wanted to try and get close to them, is another question.

Popular opinion is that the Sultan didnt really want to divorce her, after the affair scandal broke, but that his brothers advised him to. Since the Sultan is still friendly with her, the political reasons theory could have some truth in it.

[Humera]

Originally Posted by Zina

The story at the time was, that his ex-wife, Mariam, was caught in bed with another man - A young, handsome, Indonesian singer. I can't verify how true that story is. But other stories also speculated that she was having an affair/s with other men.

Insiders say: That Mariam was set up for political reasons. She was never popular with H.M's family - Prince Mohammad, particularly, disliked her. It is said that he framed her, so that the Sultan would divorce her.

Another story is that Mariam was tired of the royal lifestyle, and wanted to be free of the golden cage. Her 3 grown up kids are studying in London and she wanted to join them there. Perhaps both factors led to the divorce.

Upon divorce, she was stripped of her title and all her jewellry that had been given to her when she married H.M. Some people think that some of that jewellry may have been passed onto Sarah, as part of her wedding gifts. After all, the Royals are cash strapped since the economic downturn and Prince Jefri's Amedeo crisis. Civil servants were forced to give money for the Crown Prince's Wedding. Private businesses were asked to sponsor money towards it.

The Sultan still visits Mariam's palace regularly, as he did when they were married. Although, she doesnt live there, but in a smaller residence, nearby. Apparently, they do lunch, play badminton and are friends. Hjh Mariam also tends to be in the same places as the Royal Family, whenever they travel - she went to perform the Umrah, in Saudi in 2003, the same time as the Sultan and Raja Isteri. Whether she was invited to be with them, or just wanted to try and get close to them, is another question.

Popular opinion is that the Sultan didnt really want to divorce her, after the affair scandal broke, but that his brothers advised him to. Since the Sultan is still friendly with her, the political reasons theory could have some truth in it.

thanx for that Zina. I think I do agree that the real reason could've been political or something else. I wouldnt buy the affair story because if it was even remotely true, the Sultan wouldn't have remained friends with Hjh Mariam.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by ~*~Humera~*~

thanx for that Zina. I think I do agree that the real reason could've been political or something else. I wouldnt buy the affair story because if it was even remotely true, the Sultan wouldn't have remained friends with Hjh Mariam.

How are the brunei royalties "paid" ..like do they receive some kind of salary from the government ? I read somewhere that the Sultan of Brunei is worth like 15 Billion dollars and was used to be the richest man before Bill Gates. The sultan must be paid like a lot.

The divorce proceedings and settlement was a little exorbitant from what was reported in the papers.

[MoonlightRhapsody]

Originally Posted by Minnie

How are the brunei royalties "paid" ..like do they receive some kind of salary from the government ? I read somewhere that the Sultan of Brunei is worth like 15 Billion dollars and was used to be the richest man before Bill Gates. The sultan must be paid like a lot.

I don't think his wealth comes from his personal salary. Being a sultan means that he controls parts of the resources in his country. I hear that he also invests his money in world stocks, so that could also contribute to his wealth.

[Zina]

Originally Posted by Minnie

How are the brunei royalties "paid" ..like do they receive some kind of salary from the government ? I read somewhere that the Sultan of Brunei is worth like 15 Billion dollars and was used to be the richest man before Bill Gates. The sultan must be paid like a lot.

The divorce proceedings and settlement was a little exorbitant from what was reported in the papers.
.

Each royal family member receives a monthly salary, even the children. That is the reason why the Royals adopt so many children, in addition to having their own - To get extra income. These adopted children are never seen in the media or newspapers - they are commoners of different nationalities and are not raised as equals with their royal siblings.

Now that P. Sarah is a Royal, she will be receiving a very large monthly sum, and so will her parents.

[Humera]

Caption:
LONDON - JANUARY 13: Actress Faye Dunaway and Prince Azim of Brunei arrives at the Funky Buddha Tsunami Earthquake Appeal on January 13, 2005 at Funky Buddha in London. The party aims to raise funds for the Asian earthquake and tsunami relief effort and also introduces a new cocktail which will be on sale all year with 50 percent of sales going to the appeal. (Photo by David Westing/Getty Images

Its funny how Getty keeps calling Azim the Crown Prince of Brunei. I had to edit the caption.

[micas]

Some1 now the name of the sulton?

[alfie]

Originally Posted by micas

Some1 now the name of the sulton?

I'm guessing you are asking the name of the Sultan of Brunei. His full name is His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'izzaddin Waddaulah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by Zina

Each royal family member receives a monthly salary, even the children. That is the reason why the Royals adopt so many children, in addition to having their own - To get extra income. These adopted children are never seen in the media or newspapers - they are commoners of different nationalities and are not raised as equals with their royal siblings.

Now that P. Sarah is a Royal, she will be receiving a very large monthly sum, and so will her parents.

Hope that this largesseof royalties are beneficially utilised for the people of brunei and i heard that the sultan is a generous man who looks after his kingdom- good for him and long live the sultanate .

I really admire HRH Sarah. At such a young age, she 's already discharging such filial peity fulfilling the dreams beyond any parents imagination.

Has anyone heard HRH Princess Sarah speak before like address an audience or something? Wonder how she sounds like. Any more updates on the lovely princess ,pictures news , school work etc etc.Would love to learn more about hrh.

[Minnie]

Prince Azim looks like a lively person and rather interesting which is usually the case for those who has lived in vibrant and metropolitan London with the quirky British humour.

What's CP Billah like?

[Zina]

Originally Posted by Minnie

Hope that this largesseof royalties are beneficially utilised for the people of brunei and i heard that the sultan is a generous man who looks after his kingdom- good for him and long live the sultanate .

I really admire HRH Sarah. At such a young age, she 's already discharging such filial peity fulfilling the dreams beyond any parents imagination.

Has anyone heard HRH Princess Sarah speak before like address an audience or something? Wonder how she sounds like. Any more updates on the lovely princess ,pictures news , school work etc etc.Would love to learn more about hrh.

Yes, there is free medical care and free education in Brunei, as well as a Foundation set up by His Majesty to help those in need.

I'm sure P. Sarah's family are happy now, but many people do not know that her mother, was in fact, very unhappy about the marriage in the beginning. Due to her daughter's young age.

As of yet, P. Sarah has not made any official speeches, so most people are curious to hear how she sounds too. Apart from the post wedding banquets and functions, she is not done many official duties yet. And Brunei press are not likely to feature interviews, as the Royals are kept mostly out of the public scrutiny, apart from official duties and speeches they perform.

[Humera]

larger pics of Prince Azim

[Zina]

Originally Posted by kinneret5764

Any recent pics of P. Sarah?

Found this picture of Sarah wearing grey, on another site. I have never seen it before, and I thought it was a nice picture to include here.

The other pics are from the book "Curahan Kasih" - 1 is of the royal couple when they were courting and the other of Sarah on a school field trip.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by Zina

Found this picture of Sarah wearing grey, on another site. I have never seen it before, and I thought it was a nice picture to include here.

The other pics are from the book "Curahan Kasih" - 1 is of the royal couple when they were courting and the other of Sarah on a school field trip.

Hi Zina

Thanks for the lovely pictures! In fact I was looking for the book " curahan kashi" .do you know anywhere i could purchase that? anymore pictures found in the book as well? would love to see more of Sarah's picture before meeting the prince or of younger days example.

The first picture of Sarah in gray is actually purple. I have seen the other version of the same outfit somewhere in the royalty brunei thread and Sarah as usual looks resplendent but she looks especially good in this one.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by Minnie

Hi Zina

Thanks for the lovely pictures! In fact I was looking for the book " curahan kashi" .do you know anywhere i could purchase that? anymore pictures found in the book as well? would love to see more of Sarah's picture before meeting the prince or of younger days example.

The first picture of Sarah in gray is actually purple. I have seen the other version of the same outfit somewhere in the royalty brunei thread and Sarah as usual looks resplendent but she looks especially good in this one.

was trying to google search for the book curahan kashi but can't find information anywhere else but i found this with more picture of the lovely princess.

http://www.bruneistudent.com/zeroskull/rc_forum2.jpg

[Blueice]

Thank you all for very lovely pictures and interesting information about Brunei Royalties - I truly enjoy reading your informative and well balanced posts - much appreciated. :)

[alfie]

Originally Posted by Blueice

Thank you all for very lovely pictures and interesting information about Brunei Royalties - I truly enjoy reading your informative and well balanced posts - much appreciated. :)

I'm afraid Curah Kasih is not available in local stores. It was a gift from the His Majesty the Sultan and Her Majesty the Queen to the royal couple(crown prince billah & princess sarah) on their wedding day and only given to the guests during their wedding ceremony 9th Sept 2004 including other special gifts.

I have a photo of Princess Sarah when she was younger. The other photo is with her grandfather.