World leaders and members of Brunei's elite joined Prince Abdul Mateen and his wife Anisha Rosnah at a lavish banquet on Monday.
The dinner at Balai Persantapan in Istana Nurul Iman, the official residence of Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei, the Sultan and Prime Minister of Brunei, was the penultimate event in the 10-day-long celebration. The final event on Tuesday will be a more subdued one, where prayers will be offered to give thanks as well as to wish the newlyweds a happy life.
Prince Mateen, 32, who is the son of the Sultan of Brunei, wore a black military uniform to the banquet, while Rosnah wore an opulent cream ensemble heavily embellished with crystals. She completed her look with a statement diamond necklace and wore a tiara over her white veil, as well a matching white clutch bag.
High-profile guests at the event included members of the Brunei royal family, Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his wife Louise Araneta-Marcos, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his wife Ho Ching, as well as Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain..
Guests were treated to a lavish spread as well as musical performances at the banquet.
While sixth in line to the throne, Prince Mateen has gained prominence in recent years accompanying his father on diplomatic engagements. He's also known for his movie-star good looks and has more than 2.6 million followers on Instagram.
Prince Mateen and Rosnah, the granddaughter of the sultan's advisers, have known each other since they were children.
Their engagement was announced by the sultan in October.
Celebrations began on January 7 with a religious ceremony, which was followed by a performance by royal court musicians to formally herald the start of the wedding festivities.
Many of the events showcased centuries-old customs of the tiny nation located on the northern edge of Borneo island in South-east Asia. With a population of about 450,000, Brunei is one of the world's richest countries, and the sultan is one of the world's wealthiest men.
At an elaborate powdering ceremony on the fourth day, members of the bride and groom's families applied powder to the couple's hands to wish them good fortune.
The marriage was officially solemnised at a male-only ceremony in Brunei on Thursday. The Islamic marriage ceremony was held inside the gold-domed Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque in Bandar Seri Begawan.
The highlight of the wedding, however, came on Sunday when the couple celebrated their bersanding, or wedding reception, with a lavish ceremony in Balai Singgahsana Indera Buana, the royal throne hall of the sultan's palace. Following the ceremony, the couple took part in a procession through the streets of Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei's capital, where thousands lined the streets to cheer for the newlyweds.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
