Sultan marries Malaysian TV presenter

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of oil-rich, jungle-covered Brunei has married a former Malaysian TV journalist, making her the second wife of one of the world’s richest men.

An announcement on Radio Television Brunei said the wedding between the 59-year-old monarch and 26-year-old Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim was held on Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, the main city in neighbouring Malaysia.

The ruler’s private secretary denied a Malaysian newspaper report that another wedding ceremony would take place in the small country of Brunei, on Borneo island, next month.

The Berita Harian newspaper had reported that Hassanal would seal his marriage with a second ceremony and party next month, possibly at his official residence - the 1,788-room Istana Nurul Imam, reputedly the world’s largest residential palace – with a banquet hall seating 5,000.

The Kuala Lumpur wedding, in a palace the sultan owns and uses during visits to Malaysia, was attended by the couple’s family members, relatives and close friends.

The Utusan Malaysia newspaper reported that it was love at first sight for the sultan after the two met while Azrinaz was on assignment in Brunei about two years ago.

Rumours of an affair between the couple started after she quit TV3 in May, saying she wanted to “venture into other undertakings”.

The sultan divorced former airline stewardess Mariam Abdul Aziz, who is of Bruneian, Japanese and Scottish ancestry, in February 2003 after 21 years of marriage.

He remains married to his first wife, Anak Salleha, whom he wed in 1967. Their son, Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah, is heir to the throne.