by Susan Flantzer © Unofficial Royalty 2020
Credit – Wikipedia
Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah of Bahrain was born on February 17, 1974, at the Darul Hana Palace in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. He is the elder of the two sons and the third of the six children of first cousins Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei and his first wife Princess Saleha of Bahrain.
Al-Muhtadee Billah has one brother and four sisters:
- Princess Rashidah (born 1969), married Prince Haji ‘Abdul Rahim, had five children
- Princess Muta-Wakkilah (born 1971), unmarried
- Princess Majeedah (born 1976), married Prince Khairul Khalil, had three children
- Princess Hafizah (born 1980), married Prince Haji Mohammad Ruzaini, had four children
- Prince Abdul Malik (born 1983), married Princess Raabi’atul A’dawiyyah Binti Pengiran Haji Bolkiah, had three children
Al-Muhtadee Billah has four half-siblings from his father’s marriage (divorced 2003) to Mariam Abdul Aziz, a former flight attendant for Royal Brunei Airlines:
- Prince Abdul Azim (1982 – 2020)
- Princess Azemah Ni’matul (born 1984)
- Prince Fadzilah Lubabul (born 1985)
- Prince Abdul Mateen (born 1991), married Anisha Rosnah binti Adam
Al-Muhtadee Billah has two half-siblings from his father’s marriage (divorced 2010) to Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim, a former Malaysian TV3 presenter:
- Prince Abdul Wakeel (born 2006)
- Princess Ameerah Wardatul (born 2008)
Al-Muhtadee Billah received his early education at the Darul Hana Palace. He completed his primary education at St. Andrew’s School, a private school in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. He then attended the Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College, a selective government secondary school in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. He completed his secondary education at Emanuel School, an independent, coeducational day school in Battersea, London, England. Al-Muhtadee Billah began his university studies with tutorials at the University of Brunei Darussalam and then studied at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies in Oxford, England. He remained in Oxford and attended the University of Oxford‘s Foreign Service Programme at Magdalen College, Oxford, graduating in 1997 with a Diploma in Diplomatics Studies.
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Crown Prince’s Proclamation: The Sultan of Brunei inserts the Keris Si Naga into his son’s waistband
On August 10, 1998, Al-Muhtadee Billah was proclaimed Crown Prince of Brunei. His father Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei presented his eldest son with the Keris Si Naga, a golden dagger gold in the shape of a cobra (naga) with ruby eyes on the handle. It is also known as the Dragon’s Dagger and symbolizes the authority of the Sultans of Brunei. Its possession is necessary for a successor to claim the throne and for his coronation. As Crown Prince, Al-Muhtadee Billah acts as Deputy Sultan when his father is out of the country and holds several positions:
- Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office
- General in the Brunei Armed Forces
- Deputy Inspector General of the Royal Brunei Police Force
- Head of the National Disaster Management Committee
On September 9, 2004, at the Nurul Iman Palace, the largest residential palace in the world and the largest single-family residence ever built, in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, 30-year-old Crown Prince, Al-Muhtadee Billah married 17-year-old Dayangku Sarah binti Pengiran Salleh Ab Rahaman. Two weeks of pre-nuptial celebrations preceded the three days of ceremonies which concluded with a traditional Islamic wedding ceremony. After the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds were driven through the streets of Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, in a golden Rolls-Royce followed by 103 limousines, with a marching band leading the procession. The price tag for the wedding festivities was five million dollars.
Sarah’s father was descended in the male line of a Sultan of Brunei and used the title Pengiran. Sarah’s title Dayangku is used for unmarried daughters of a Pengiran and retained after marriage if the husband is a commoner. Sarah is the only daughter of Pengiran Salleh Ab Rahaman Pengiran Damit and Dayang Rinawaty Abdullah. Her father worked as a laboratory assistant and her mother, who was born in Switzerland as Suzanne Aeby, worked as a nurse. They met while attending school in the United Kingdom. Sarah attended St. Andrew’s School in Bandar Seri Begawan and Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College, schools her husband has also attended. At the time of her marriage, Sarah was still a student at Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan Science College and she completed her studies after her marriage. After her marriage, Sarah was referred to by state media and English language publications in Brunei as the wife of the Crown Prince, but not Crown Princess. The style Pengiran Anak Isteri is given to wives of princes.
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The Duke of Gloucester was among the many guests at the wedding
Guests at the wedding included Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester representing his cousin Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, Prince Bandar and Prince Saud al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia, King Hamad of Bahrain and other Malaysian sultans. The wedding was also attended by heads of state and government from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Al-Muhtadee Billah and Sarah with their two eldest children; Credit – https://www.bn.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/20161024.html
Al-Muhtadee Billah and his wife Sarah have four children:
- Prince Abdul Muntaqim (born 2007)
- Princess Muneerah Madhul Bolkiah (born 2011)
- Prince Muhammad Aiman (born 2015)
- Princess Faathimah Az-Zahraa’ Raihaanul Bolkiah (born 2017)
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The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, now King and Queen of the United Kingdom, are accompanied by the Crown Prince of Brunei and his wife Sarah upon arriving in Brunei in 2017
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Works Cited
- En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Al-Muhtadee Billah. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Muhtadee_Billah> [Accessed 13 August 2020].
- En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Sarah, Crown Princess Of Brunei. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah,_Crown_Princess_of_Brunei> [Accessed 13 August 2020].
- Mehl, Scott, 2014. Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan And Yang Di-Pertuan Of Brunei. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/hassanal-bolkiah-sultan-and-yang-di-pertuan-of-brunei/> [Accessed 13 August 2020].
- Ms.wikipedia.org. 2020. Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah. [online] Available at: <https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pengiran_Muda_Mahkota_Al-Muhtadee_Billah> [Accessed 13 August 2020].
- The Independent. 2004. The $5M Royal Wedding. [online] Available at: <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-5m-royal-wedding-5351560.html> [Accessed 13 August 2020].