In ten thousand lots of Prince Jefri's possessions went to auction. However, the BIA alleged that the Prince failed to uphold the agreement by failing to disclose all his accounts, and allowing money to be taken from frozen accounts, and restarted legal proceedings to gain full control of the Prince's assets.
After a number of appeals, this finally reached the Privy Council in London, which can serve as Brunei's highest court of appeal as a result of Brunei's former protectorate status. The Privy Council rejected Prince Jefri's evidence, describing his contention that the agreement allowed for him to retain a number of properties as "simply incredible", and ruled in favour of the Government of Brunei and the BIA; consequently the Prince's appeal was dismissed and he was ordered to return the rest of his assets to Brunei.
After winning before the Privy Council, the BIA asked the court to determine whether Prince Jefri should be held in contempt of court for allegedly making misstatements in his listing of assets. The contempt proceeding was scheduled for a hearing in June , but the Prince did not attend, instead going to Paris.
Judge Peter Smith did not rule on whether Prince Jefri was in contempt, but did issue a warrant for his arrest. As of November , the warrant still appears to be in place, meaning the Prince will be arrested if he enters the UK. As of October, , Prince Jefri appears to have been allowed back to Brunei. He is not back in any official government role but retains all his royal titles and decorations and remains in the royal protocol order.
He is seen at major national functions like the national teachers day celebrations, the sultan's birthday and at the National Day Celebrations. As Prime Minister, Bolkiah has spearheaded legislation that would introduce the death penalty for homosexuality and adultery, by stoning, effective from 3 April This sparked international protests.
The policy resulted in calls for boycotts of numerous companies owned by the Brunei Royal Family, notably the Dorchester Collection, a group of well-known hotels owned by the sultan in the US and Europe.
The sultan, via his Brunei Investment Agency BIA owning the Dorchester Collection hotels, raised concern abroad in April by implementing the Sharia law penal code that includes death by stoning, the severing of limbs, and flogging for crimes in Brunei such as abortions, adultery, and same-sex sexual acts. None are exempted from the Sharia law regardless of the classes they are in and the laws only apply in Brunei's border. When the sultan made this announcement, George Clooney , Elton John , and Ellen DeGeneres called again for a boycott of all hotels associated with him.
The hotel management responded by issuing a statement asserting that it does not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. Fashion designers Brian Atwood and Peter Som subsequently called for wider protests, urging the fashion industry to boycott all of the hotels owned by the Dorchester Collection.
In January , the Royal College of General Practitioners designated the sultan the first Companion of the college for services to healthcare in Brunei and abroad. The sultan once owned one of the largest private car collections in the world with about 2, cars which his brother Jefri Bolkiah bought for himself, the sultan and other members of the royal family to entertain their car passion.
The car collection and Prince Jefri's other indulgences cost billions of US dollars, and ultimately landed him in trouble and the royal family in financial crisis. The car collection was left abandoned; most of the non-garaged cars were beyond saving, the rest were auctioned. The sultan married his first cousin and first wife, Pengiran Anak Saleha , or Princess Saleha, who later became the Raja Isteri or queen. His former second wife, Aisha Mariam the former Pengiran Isteri , was a former flight attendant for the national carrier, Royal Brunei Airlines.
He divorced her in , stripping her of all her royal titles. In August , her place was taken by a former Malaysian TV3 presenter, Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim , who is 33 years younger than the sultan. They divorced in , and as with Aisha Mariam, the sultan stripped her of all titles, honours, and monthly allowance.
The divorce was announced on Radio Television Brunei by the grand chamberlain. As of , Hassanal Bolkiah has five sons and seven daughters with his three wives. He previously held an Honorary Doctor of Law degree from the University of Oxford, England, which was returned on 6 May following a letter from the University but not revoked , and an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, which was revoked on 17 April The scroll for the honorary doctorate was presented by Lord Duoro , the chairman of the Council of King's College London.
This honorary doctorate was rescinded in by the Fellowships and Hororary Degrees Committee at King's College London upon recommendation of the Chairman of King's College Council, The Rt Hon the Lord Geidt, in light of the sultan's willingness to inflict death by stoning and other egregious penalties upon homosexuals in Brunei.
He was awarded with an honorary doctorate in philosophy and humanities on 21 April from Universitas Indonesia. He has an English residence at Binfield Manor in Berkshire. He possesses red beret and paratrooper wings of the Black Hawk paratroopers, presented to him by the Indian Army during his state visit to India.
Kedah :. Negeri Sembilan:. The auction included, CNN said, one eight-foot bronze Trojan horse, several jacuzzi covered in gold plate, several statues of flamingos, a Comanche helicopter simulator, a plane, and an F1 race car.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald. The 1,room palace covers an estimated 2. Source: The Associated Press. Source: Guinness World Records.
In , Lauren told CNN : "I am a witness to the fact that the sultan was drinking, was committing adultery, was not exactly living on the straight and narrow. The Brunei government have dismissed Lauren's claims, saying in a statement to CNN : "We vehemently deny the allegations. According to CNN, both brothers denied the allegations, with Bolkiah claiming he had never even met Marketic. The case was dropped when courts "granted the brothers immunity from legal action, owing to their joint status as a foreign head of state," CNN said.
During the s, the Sultan's family reportedly accounted for almost half of all Rolls-Royce purchases in the world. Source: Gizmodo , Vanity Fair. Source: The Independent. Source: The Times. The Times reported that Bolkiah flies out his favourite barber from London, where he works at the Dorchester hotel in Mayfair.
Source: Daily Mail. Source: Business Insider. The tiny Muslim nation said the new laws are meant to prevent rather than punish, and to safeguard family values, and admitted they will be very hard to enforce. In a televised speech, the sultan said Allah would never hand down laws meant to inflict cruelty on others. George Clooney, probably the most vocal celebrity voice against the law, said people need to keep up the boycott despite the assurances. For my family and me we simply can't walk away until this draconian law is no longer on the books.
Source: Reuters, Deadline. World globe An icon of the world globe, indicating different international options. Get the Insider App. Click here to learn more. A leading-edge research firm focused on digital transformation. Bill Bostock. The Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah is currently the subject of widespread condemnation for making homosexuality punishable with the death penalty. Funeral or jenazah prayers were recited for the late prince at Istana Nurul Iman before his body was taken for burial at the Royal Mausoleum in Bandar Seri Begawan.
Apart from members of the Royal Family, state dignitaries and cabinet ministers also attended the burial ceremony at the Royal Mausoleum. His Majesty the Sultan and Her Majesty the Duli Raja Isteri then proceeded to pour scented water, or air asah-asahan , over the grave of the late prince, as one of the final burial rites.
He was a keen advocate for the arts and creative industries, and championed several causes around youth and people with disabilities. Close Sidebar.
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