Ten days of ceremonies, diamonds, banquets and massive parades: this was the first royal wedding of the year in Brunei

Brunei is hangover. Prince Mateen and Anisha Isa Kalebic are now officially husband and wife, a union they sealed in style during 10 days of religious and traditional celebrations. The small Asian sultanate of Brunei, rich for its oil and gas reserves, made official on Sunday, with a sumptuous royal reception, the marriage between its most popular prince, 32 years old and known for his athlete profile and large number of followers. that accumulates on social networks ―on Instagram there are 2.5 million―, and the young woman from Burea, 29 years old. It was the moment when the sultan and father of the prince, Hassanal Bolkiah, placed his hand on the bride's forehead. A sign that makes the Islamic union between the couple official, and makes Anisha Isa Kalebic part of the second richest royal family in the world. But the events and celebrations for the union began on the 7th, with an engagement ceremony, and finally culminated this Tuesday.

After the marriage request was formalized on Sunday the 7th, the first day of the extensive wedding took place: the royal powdering ceremony, at which time the couple's relatives bless them with colored rice powder and perfumed oils. From that day on, the small Asian country came to a standstill. On Tuesday the 9th the solemnization took place in the Sultan's mosque; on Thursday the 11th, the official wedding by Muslim rite, attended by the prince, but not the bride, who was represented by a male relative; on Sunday the 14th, the long-awaited wedding ceremony at the Nurul Iman palace, the official residence of the sultan and the largest palace in the world (according to CNN, it has 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms and air-conditioned stables for 200 horses). After the wedding, they paraded in a convertible Rolls-Royce vehicle through the streets of the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, to receive the affection of hundreds of compatriots, and afterwards there was a reception for 5,000 guests. After celebrating another luxurious banquet on Monday night, the celebrations culminated this Tuesday the 16th with the recital of religious texts and ablutions of the attendees – including the sultan and other members of royalty – to wish them health and happiness. During the ritual, 21 cannon shots were also fired to commemorate the union of the princes, according to the newspaper. Borneo Bulletin.

The interest in who were invited to the royal wedding in a country that has one of the highest GDPs in the world has been evident before and during the celebration of the different events. The Sunday evening, the actual wedding day, was attended by the sultan and Mateen's father – who has been on the throne for more than half a century, despite controversy over his support for the stoning of homosexuals and adulterers – , as well as royals from Jordan (Princess Noor), Saudi Arabia and Bhutan; the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo; and the Malaysian Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim, among others. Although the presence of the Princes of Wales, William of England and Kate Middleton was expected, they did not attend the events. Both families maintain a close relationship, given that the Asian country is part of the Commonwealth of Nations of the United Kingdom, and Mateen did attend his wedding in 2011.

The new princess has captured many eyes. There have been six dresses that she has worn. Her choice for the official marriage on Sunday drew particular attention: she wore a long-sleeved dress with a small V-neck with golden geometric details and a veil embroidered with diamonds covering her head, as well as a tiara with more than 800 diamonds, the same one that Princess Azemah, Mateen's sister, wore for her wedding in January 2023. To which she added spectacular earrings and a necklace with diamonds. For her powdering rite, the princess wore a red dress with a towering golden headdress that covered her face during part of the ceremony. For Monday night's banquet, she again chose a white crystal-decorated wedding dress with an ostentatious tiara. The prince, for his part, wore a black military uniform, unlike the white one he chose for Sunday's wedding.

The couple, who have known each other since they were both children – the prince is a close friend of the bride's brother – announced their engagement in October, sparking interest in the then-unknown Kalebic, who is the granddaughter of the sultan's special advisor. from Brunei and studied at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, According to the magazine Esquire. It is also known that the future consort, who is a commoner, has started a couple of businesses, one in fashion under the SilkCollective brand and a travel agency.

For his part, the prince, who has more followers on Instagram than the total population of the Asian country (445,000 inhabitants), is not the heir to the throne, but his older brother, Muda Hassanal Bolkiah. In his publications, he appears in photos wearing elegant suits with the Eiffel Tower in the background, playing polo, flying in a fighter plane and even showing off abs. He is the tenth of the sultan's 12 sons and daughters and the fourth among males, and the fourth son of the sultan's second wife Hajah Mariam, whom he divorced in 2003. His role as a member of the sultanate is clue. He usually accompanies his father to high-level events, always as an advisor, including the Japan Summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in December 2023 in Tokyo, or in Jakarta, in September; as well as the coronation of Charles III, held in London in May of last year. The prince of the Asian country graduated in Intern
ational Politics at Kings College London and then completed a master's degree in International Studies and Diplomacy at the University of London. In his military training he graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and then learned to fly helicopters in the Royal Air Force at Cranwell in the United Kingdom.

But what really What stands out is his facet as influencer. Mateen has always tried to show a modern image of his country, despite living immersed in absolutism. For years the media has placed him as a golden bachelor, since he is part of the second richest royal family in the world, with assets valued at 18 billion euros, according to the magazine Forbes. In fact, it was not until this end of the year when he published his first photo with his then-fiancée on his networks. Until then it was not common for him to share that facet of his life, but now there are several publications in which he records his wedding celebrations.

This small sultanate is located on the island of Borneo, which it shares with its neighbors, Indonesia and Malaysia, and was occupied by the Spanish and British Empires. Its sultan is 77 years old, has been married and divorced twice, and has led this conservative Islamic nation under the form of an absolute monarchy since 1967 – gay sex and adultery are punishable by death by stoning or mutilation of limbs -, also becoming Prime Minister in 1984, after independence from the United Kingdom. In 2017 he celebrated his 50 years on the throne in style with a month of celebrations that made evident his extravagant lifestyle.