Sultan of Brunei celebrates marriage of daughter, 32, with spectacular ceremony straight out of Arabian Nights
- Princess Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah marries civil servant Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini, 29 today
- The family prepared for wedding with a lavish ceremony held in the Throne Hall of the Istana Nurul Iman palace
- 1,700-room palace is home to the Sultan, whose family have ruled in Brunei for 600 years
- Both bride and groom work for the Sultan of Brunei in the Prime Minister's office
By Bianca London and Deborah Arthurs
PUBLISHED:
18:39 GMT, 20 September 2012 | UPDATED: 20:59 GMT, 20
September 2012
The daughter of the Sultan of Brunei, one of the world's
wealthiest men, wed groom Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini today in a
dazzling ceremony at the monarch's 1,700-room palace.
Princess Hajah Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah, 32, the fifth child of
the Sultan and his wife, Queen Saleha, and her groom Pengiran Haji
Muhammad Ruzaini, 29, exchanged their vows this afternoon in front of
scores of gathered family and friends, royals and international
dignitaries.
Both the bride and groom work in Governmental roles as employees
of the Sultan of Brunei, with Hafizah, who has a degree in business
administration, working as an officer in the finance ministry, and Ruzaini
a civil servant in the Prime Minister's office.
Princess Hafizah
Sururul Bolkiah and her groom Pengiran Haji Muhammad Ruzaini attended a
ceremony ahead of their wedding, which took place
today
Sultan Haji
Hassanal Bolkiah, right, and Queen Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha
at the pre-wedding ceremony yesterday
The pre-wedding
ceremony and the wedding both took place at the Brunei monarch's
1,700-room palace
Sultan Haji
Hassanal Bolkiah led a ceremony ahead of today's wedding, where daughter
Princess Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah was dressed in lavish silks and prepared
for today's service
The Sultan is Prime Minister of the small oil-rich Muslim
sultanate that has been governed for 600 years by the same royal family,
and also holds the roles of finance and defence minister.
The sultan has 12 children, five sons and seven daughters, from
his three marriages, and the wedding is the first involving one of the
sultan’s children since 2007.
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Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei prepared to give his
daughter away in a lavish ceremony yesterday, which saw the family attend
a service at the Throne Hall of Istana Nurul Iman palace in Brunei
yesterday.
The couple then exchanged their vows in front of some the most
powerful people in the region including Prime Minister Najib Razak of
neighbouring Malaysia.
The guest list for
the wedding was not released ahead of the day, but many international
royals and dignitaries were preparing to attend, including Prime Minister
Najib Razak, the Prime Minister of neighbouring
Malaysia
The opulent Throne
Hall of Istana Nurul Iman palace played host to the service
yesterday
The daughter of the
sultan of Brunei, one of the world's wealthiest men, is set to wed this
weekend in a dazzling ceremony at the monarch's 1,700-room
palace
The young boys
looked dashing in their handmade silk outfits as they accompanied their
fathers at the ceremony
The couple will now be officially presented to the royal court
in an elaborate ceremony on Sunday that marks the climax of more than a
week of wedding-related festivities.
Southeast Asian leaders and foreign royalty are expected to be
among the guests at a lavish royal banquet in honour of the newlyweds in
the Islamic sultanate on Sunday night, hosted by the bride’s father,
Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 66.
This week’s festivities have included nightly vigils at the
palace to bless the couple, but the monarchy will forgo a traditional
public procession through the capital in the royal family’s gilded Rolls
Royce.
Such weddings are typically a rare source of excitement in
Brunei, which is known for its slow pace of life and lack of
nightlife.
The wedding of Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah in 2004 attracted
large crowds in the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, and a guest list of over
2,000 people including members of the royal families of Japan, Jordan,
Britain and Malaysia.
Happy occasion:
Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, right, and Queen Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak
Hajah Saleha, who both looked delighted during the ceremony, have 12
children
Traditional:
Brunei's Queen Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha applies ceremonial
paste to Princess Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah's hands during the week-long
wedding festivities
Father of the
bride: Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah applies ceremonial paste to
Princess Hafizah Sururul Bolkiah in the first of his children's weddings
since 2007
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