Diamonds, cannons as daughter of Brunei sultan weds

FE Team | Published: June 11, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Jun 10 (AFP): Diamonds sparkled and cannons boomed Sunday when a daughter of one of the world's longest-reigning monarchs wed a civil servant in a ceremony whose origins date back generations.
Thousands of people, baking under the midday sun, greeted the newly married daughter of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and her smiling husband when they paraded through town after the brief ceremony at the 1,700-room palace.
More than 2,000 guests, including Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak, witnessed the wedding of Princess Majeedah Nuurul Bulqiah, 31, and Pengiran Khairul Khalil, 32, beneath 12 crystal chandeliers in the palace throne room.
The princess, wearing a tiara and holding a small bouquet of diamond-studded flowers, sat beneath a gold-leaf canopy at the head of the hall.
Khairul, escorted by Hassanal, approached and placed his hands briefly on her forehead before the muffled boom of cannons sounded 17 times outside.
The ceremony was conducted largely in silence until the state religious leader concluded with a prayer for the newlyweds, asking God to "close all doors of sin and evil" for them.
Hassanal, formerly rated as the world's richest man, will host a lavish banquet for the couple and guests Monday night.
The princess is Hassanal's fourth child and works at the department of environment, parks and recreation as a senior officer.
She holds a master's degree in environmental development from King's College in London, according to the government's department of information.
"She's pretty," proclaimed Masjalita, 30, a street cleaner who stopped her work momentarily to catch the royal limousine, which passed slowly through the city after the wedding to allow locals and foreign visitors the chance to wave and snap photographs.
The groom is assistant executive officer in the prime minister's office. He holds a diploma in building studies from a university in Britain, the government said, and his hobbies include soccer and video production.
Sunday's ceremony marked the climax in a series of ceremonies that began on June 1 and formally end Thursday. The marriage vows were exchanged last week.
Brunei has not seen a celebration like this since 2004, when Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, 30 and heir to the throne, married 17-year-old university student Sarah Salleh.
Hassanal wed Malaysian television news presenter Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim in 2005 but the ceremony took place in Kuala Lumpur. She is his second wife.
The sultanate, which dates back to the 15th century, is a Malay Muslim absolute monarchy which gained full independence from Britain in 1984.
Occupying a sliver of Borneo island, it is Southeast Asia's third-largest oil producer and the world's fourth-largest producer of liquefied natural gas.
The mineral wealth has brought Brunei's citizens, who number fewer than 400,000, one of the highest per capita incomes in Asia.
Government spokesmen could not reveal the cost of the wedding celebrations.