Foreign leaders, royals arrive for Brunei wedding

Foreign leaders, royals arrive for Brunei wedding

Agence France-Presse, Bandar Seri Begawan

Southeast Asian leaders and an array of royals from around the
world began arriving in Brunei on Wednesday for the wedding of
the heir to the oil-rich sultanate's throne.

Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah, 30, and 17-year-old
university student Sarah Salleh, a half-Swiss commoner, will be
married at the royal palace on Thursday in Muslim ceremonies
showcasing the Southeast Asian kingdom's ancient origins.

The wedding guests are led by wealthy and powerful friends of
the groom's father, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, once reputed to be
the world's richest man.

The Duke of Gloucester, representing Britain's Queen Elizabeth
II, was the first foreign VIP guest to arrive on Wednesday.

The only European royal on the VIP list, he went down a
staircase from a commercial flight and walked on a red carpet to
a limousine on the tarmac.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, making his
international debut after taking office last month, was also
among the first arrivals, followed by Indonesian President
Megawati Soekarnoputri and Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito.

The future Japanese emperor jetted in without Princess Masako,
who stayed home because of a stress-induced disorder.

Singapore's former prime ministers Goh Chok Tong and Lee Kuan
Yew were also due to arrive, underscoring the city-state's
historic ties with Brunei.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was also expected on
Wednesday.

Although there will be no representative from the Thai royal
family, they have already sent a message of congratulations and a
gift via Thailand's ambassador to Brunei, according to Thai
officials in Bangkok.

Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar -- Riyadh's ambassador to
Washington -- and Prince Saud, and former Malaysian prime
minister Mahathir Mohamad were also scheduled to arrive on
Wednesday.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Philippine
President Gloria Arroyo, Bahrain's King Hamad and Malaysian
sultans are to arrive on Thursday.

Malaysian King Syed Sirajuddin, who holds the rotating
leadership of his country's largely ceremonial monarchy, is
scheduled to arrive on Friday in time for the royal banquet, to
which up to 6,000 people have been invited.

The British High Commission (embassy) here said the Duke of
Gloucester, a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, will have his
own program aside from attending the wedding.

He is expected to meet with the British community and visit
places of interest in Brunei, a former British protectorate which
gained independence in 1984.

Many of the guests, including the duke, Japan's Naruhito,
Bahrain's monarch and the Southeast Asian leaders are booked at
the palatial Empire Hotel, where toilet brushes and massive
columns in the atrium are gold-plated.

The other guests are staying in equally opulent villas built
for then U.S. president Bill Clinton and other world leaders when
Brunei hosted the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit
in 2000.

Brunei draws its wealth from oil and gas revenues, and Sultan
Hassanal was once reputed to be the world's richest man before
the rise of technology mogul Bill Gates and other self-made
billionaires.

The 58-year-old monarch lives in a palace of more than 1,700
rooms and is reported to have a private collection of more than
150 Rolls-Royces.

Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, a billiards and snooker enthusiast
who did Islamic studies and a diplomatic course in Britain, is in
line to become the 30th sultan in an unbroken chain of succession
of rulers in Brunei's more than 600 years as a Malay Muslim
kingdom.

The bride, who has yet to be conferred a royal title, was born
to a Bruneian father and a Swiss nurse, Suzanne Aeby. Her parents
met while studying in London in the 1970s, officials said.