Brunei's crown prince marries 17-year-old in Asia's grandest wedding of the year

Thursday September 9, 11:44 AM
Brunei's crown prince marries 17-year-old in Asia's grandest wedding of the year
The crown prince of the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei married a 17-year-old half-Swiss commoner Thursday in Asia's wedding of the year, attended by royalty and dignitaries from around the world.

Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah, 30, son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah _ the absolute and fabulously wealthy ruler of 350,000 subjects _ wed Sarah Salleh before 2,000 people in a traditional Malay Muslim ceremony at Istana Nurul Iman, the 1,788-room main palace.

The sultan escorted the prince _ wearing a gold crown and traditional blue costume with a kris dagger tucked into his belt _ to a golden chair on the dais. He was joined by his bride, who emerged from a stateroom more than an hour behind schedule.

The prince placed a hand on Sarah's diamond tiara as Muslim marriage prayers were recited for the five-minute ceremony. She stood radiant in a blue dress and veil and clasped a bouquet of pure gold and diamonds. They then descended from the dais and kissed their family members.

The couple embarked in a royal carriage for an eight-kilometer (five-mile) parade across Bandar Seri Begawan, accompanied by 103 limousines and vehicles carrying family members as a marching band played.

Rain threatened to break the tropical heat of Brunei's capital as thousands of people awaited the royal procession. Soldiers with submachine guns lined the streets, and the roads were closed to ordinary traffic.

Earlier, a 21-gun salute sounded as Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito, Bahrain's King Hamad, the Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard and Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia arrived and took their seats on gold-trimmed chairs in the cavernous, chandelier-lined, main hall at the palace.

Other guests include presidents Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines and prime ministers Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of Malaysia and Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore.

The crown prince was educated at Oxford, as is customary with royal family members from this former British colony.

His bride, whose father is a manager at the Public Works Department, is "known among her teachers and friends for her grace, intelligence and positive attitude," according to the official wedding booklet.

The bride's mother, the former Suzanne Aeby from a village outside Zurich, wore a blue veil and traditional Malay dress at the ceremony. She came to Brunei in the 1970s and worked at the Health Ministry.

The ceremony caps two weeks of official celebrations taking place in one of Asia's smallest but richest countries, which shares Borneo island with Malaysia and Indonesia. An extravagant banquet for the guests is scheduled for Friday followed by a fireworks display.

Naruhito left his wife, Crown Princess Masako, behind in Japan. The Imperial Household Agency said in July that Masako, 40, has experienced bouts of depression and anxiety and was undergoing treatment.

The Brunei ruling family's extravagance is legendary, and the sultan was the world's richest man before the advent of the high-tech era _ and a series of financial blunders blamed on his younger brother, Prince Jefri, in the 1990s, that resulted in an estimated US$7 billion in losses.

Now living in Europe, Jefri was not present at ceremony. It was unclear whether he was invited.

The sultan is also Brunei's prime minister and heads the military and ministries of defense and finance. His Cabinet includes royal family members, who stay in several palaces.