Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Sultans of bling: Brunei prince weds in glitter & gold

April 14, 2015 10:33 IST

It was a wedding that redefined opulence. Prince Abdul Malik, son of the Sultan of Brunei -- one of the wealthiest men on the planet -- on Sunday married former systems data analyst Dayangku Raabi'atul 'Adawiyyah Pengiran Haji Bolkiah in a spectacular ceremony at the monarch's 1,788-room palace in Brunei's capital.

Image: Brunei's newly wed royal couple, Prince Abdul Malik and Dayangku Raabi'atul 'Adawiyyah Pengiran Haji Bolkiah, sit during the "bersanding" or enthronement ceremony at their wedding in the Nurul Iman Palace in Bandar Seri Begawan. Photograph: Ahim Rani/Reuters

Prince Abdul Malik, 31, is the youngest child of the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and his wife Queen Saleha and second-in-line to become the next Sultan of Brunei.

The prince and his 22-year-old bride -- dressed in matching gold outfits embellished with diamonds -- exchanged vows before a galaxy of foreign dignitaries, nobility, friends and family.

Image: Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah holds the arm of his son Prince Abdul Malik to bless Malik's new wife. Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters

Photographs of the ceremony showed the bride carrying a bouquet made of dazzling gems, rather than flowers. She wore a breathtaking diamond tiara studded with six teardrop-shaped emeralds.

A diamond necklace with a central pendant of three emeralds the size of grapes, glittered around her neck, while a matching brooch of two egg-shaped emeralds dangled from a diamond setting.

Image: A lady-in-waiting adjusts the dress and Christian Louboutin shoes of Adawiyyah as she waits for Prince Abdul Malik to arrive for the enthronement ceremony at their wedding. Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters

Even her shoes, a pair of Christian Louboutin heels, had been embellished with diamonds.

After the wedding ceremonies ended, Brunei's newly-wed royal couple changed into more opulent evening outfits for the wedding banquet. Prince Abdul swapped his gold wedding suit for ceremonial military dress, embellished with diamond epaulettes and collar.

Image: Ragad Kurdi Taib, wife of Sarawak's former chief minister Abdul Taib Mahmud, and Saudi Arabia's Prince Saud bin Abdul Mohsen bin Abdul Aziz talk before the wedding of Brunei's Prince. Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters

The newest member of the royal family changed into a beaded purple floor-length gown embroidered with silver thread for the wedding banquet.

The dignitaries were escorted to a banquet in a palace hall that can accommodate 5,000 guests.

Image: Brunei's newly-wed royal couple at the royal wedding banquet at the Nurul Iman Palace. Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters

The wedding is taking place over a period of 11 days -- it started last Sunday when a royal marriage proposal ceremony was held and will conclude on April 15.

Image: Brunei's newly wed royal couple pray at the royal wedding banquet at the Nurul Iman Palace in Bandar Seri Begawan. Photograph: Olivia Harris/Reuters