A royal with movie star looks dubbed Asia’s “most eligible bachelor” is officially off the market.
Prince Mateen Brunei (Abdul Mateen ibni Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah), 32, tied the knot with Anisha Rosnah (Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran Anak Isteri Anisha Rosnah), 29, an ordinary citizen who owns a fashion label and travel agency.
The tenth son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Prince Mateen is a British-trained military officer in the Brunei armed forces and a helicopter pilot. He also represented his country in polo.
The prince is regularly called “hot” and “sexy” by his many fans online.
Prince Mateen has become a social media sensation for his apparent abs. Mateen/Instagram
Prince Mateen’s looks and chiseled body have made him a social media sensation on Instagram, where he has more than 2.6 million followers.
His new wife is an entrepreneur who founded fashion label Silk Collective and travel agency Authentirary.
The pair have known each other for years, with the prince sharing cute photos of them together as children.
The royal wedding lasted for 10 days with about 5000 guests including royals from Jordan and Saudi Arabia, along with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos.
They were officially united as a married couple in an Islamic ceremony with only male guests on Wednesday.
The newlyweds then took part in a wedding procession in an open-top Rolls-Royce, waving to onlookers as they made their way through the capital, where their images have been displayed on street arches and building facades for days.
Many of the sultan’s subjects lined the streets in the scorching sun to catch a glimpse of the couple, offering free ice cream.
Hajah Aminah Abd Morsidee, 91, who has seen five royal weddings in her lifetime, said she was “happy to see Prince Mateen marry the beautiful Anisha”.
School teacher Norliha Mohamad Din, 37, said it was a “once in a lifetime moment”.
“I’ve seen Prince Mateen since he was little,” she said. “I am very happy for him. This is one way to show appreciation to the royal family.”
Brunei’s royal family hopes that the young couple can unite young people. AFP via Getty Images
Prince Mateen’s father is the very wealthy Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who is estimated to have a net worth of $AU44 billion ($US30 billion). He is the longest reigning monarch in the world and was once the richest man on the planet.
His extreme wealth is derived almost entirely from Brunei’s enormous oil and gas reserves.
As the 10th and fourth son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Prince Mateen is unlikely to ascend the throne of the oil-rich country on the northern edge of the island of Borneo.
However, Prince Mateen’s six-pack and undulating sense of adventure – captured in carefully curated photos and videos on Instagram – have turned him into a public relations asset for the royal family, which has been dogged by scandal and global condemnation over the years. .
“He’s a breath of fresh air,” said Amyra Syahira Awang Ahmad, 20, a Bruneian snack shop worker.
A pre-wedding photo of Mateen and his fiancee, the Honorable Anisha Rosnah, posted on Instagram on December 31 shows her wearing an open-necked white shirt under a double-breasted dark blazer, while she wears cream pants and does not wear a hijab. .
Anisha and Mateen have known each other all their lives, evident from their childhood photos. Mateen/Instagram
It attracted more than 11,000 comments with some touched followers complaining that 2024 started with “heartbreak” – referring to themselves rather than the prince.
The photo appears to be part of an effort to burnish the conservative country’s more modern image – and make the royal family relevant to a younger generation of Bruneians who have grown up on social media.
“Prince Mateen will be what I describe as an important youth change maker in Brunei society,” said Mustafa Izzuddin, visiting professor of international relations at the Islamic University of Indonesia.
“You can call him a cultural Instagrammer because he’s good at connecting with young people,” he told AFP.
“The current generation has different interests, values and priorities.”
The ceremony received muted media coverage in Australia where the focus was on the accession of Australian-born Mary Donaldson to the Danish throne as Queen of Denmark with King Frederik X overnight.
However, Prince Abdul Mateen’s wedding is a big event in Southeast Asia.
The couple shared a picture together before the wedding took place. Mateen/Instagram
Winning hearts and minds
After more than five decades on the throne, the 77-year-old sultan needs to “restore the social contract” between himself and his 450,000 people, according to Izzuddin.
The absolute monarchy has seen its reputation tarnished in recent decades. There is a bitter row between the sultan and his playboy younger brother Prince Jefri Bolkiah over allegations that Jefri embezzled billions while serving as finance minister in the 1990s.
The country also faced a global backlash in 2019 when sharia law was added to its penal code, allowing death by stoning and amputation for certain crimes.
The code, however, was not actively enforced after protests from celebrities, the United Nations and human rights activists.
Prince Mateen, who often accompanies his father on official trips abroad wearing a Western-style suit, seems to be leading the way in winning the hearts and minds of young people.
His public profile has exploded on Instagram with posts showing him playing polo, boxing in a ring, dabbling in photography, and posing in military uniform.
A video shows the prince flying in an F/A 18 Super Hornet fighter jet.
It generated more than 250,000 likes and comparisons to Top Gun star Tom Cruise.
Other photos of Mateen’s well-sculpted upper body have drawn more than half a million likes – and countless heart and love emojis.
“Hey James Bond 007!” one admirer commented on a photo of Prince Mateen walking shirtless on the beach, with jet skis and speedboats visible in the background.
University student Nazatul Izzati Saifulrizal, 19, proudly showed AFP a selfie she took with the prince, whom she described as a humble person.
“He asked me about my studies… he asked about my family background,” she said, adding that she was “touched” by the gesture.
— with AFP
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
