Brunei's Sultan revokes title from one of the princesses "for inappropriate behavior"
She was the fourth occupant of the line of succession
BarcelonaHassanal Bolkiah, absolute monarch of Brunei, has issued a royal decree withdrawing the title of princess and the style of Highness from his daughter-in-law, Pengiran Raabi’atul Adawiyyah. The young woman, 33, is the wife of the sultan's second son, Prince Malik, who holds the fourth position in the line of succession to the throne.
As is customary in this autocracy where information is tightly controlled by the state apparatus, there is no information about the reasons that have led Bolkiah to strip her of her honors, beyond a statement saying the measure has "immediate effect" and is due to "actions considered inappropriate for the wife of a member of the royal family as they tarnish the reputation and constitute a serious disrespect to His Majesty". It is not clarified what the spark was that precipitated events, but rumors point to a possible imminent divorce of the couple.
Divorces, in fact, are not alien to the Sultan's personal history, who these days is enjoying the national celebrations marking his birthday (this year a round number: 80). He himself married on three occasions, although he has divorced twice. He remains only united to his first wife, his first cousin, Queen Saleha.
It is with her that he has had six children, including Malik and another son, Prince and heir Al-Muhtadee Billah, who are the only two with a right to the throne, as the four daughters are excluded because they are women. In the second and third positions of the line of succession are Al-Muhtadee's sons. In addition, they have a court of half-siblings, including Brunei's most media-savvy prince, Abdul Mateen, who is the result of Bolkiah's second marriage. If the divorce between Malik and Raabi'atul is finally confirmed, they will have been married for just over ten years. The couple has had four children during this time.
