At a glance…
- Brunei is a small, oil-rich country on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It has an absolute monarchy.
- The royal family is the House of Bolkiah, who have ruled the nation for centuries.
- The Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, issued a royal decree on August 10, 2026, stripping his daughter-in-law of her royal titles with immediate effect.
- The palace has not confirmed the reason behind the decision, only that it is due to “unbecoming behaviour.”
When it comes to royal families, losing a title is rarely a small matter.
Recently, we’ve seen the ramifications of British royals losing their titles by their own violation (like King Edward VIII, who abdicated so he could marry Wallis Simpson) or due to the wish of the monarch or the public (such as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for his association with Jeffrey Epstein).
However, the most recent stripping of royal titles in Brunei has raised questions and furrowed brows around the world.
Brunei is a small, oil-rich country on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is an absolute monarchy, ruled by the House of Bolkiah, a dynasty that has ruled Brunei for centuries. An absolute monarchy is exactly what it sounds like: The ruling monarch is the head of state (Sultan) and also acts as the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence, and Minister of Finance — he’d give Scomo a run for his money.
Brunei was a British protectorate until 1984, when it became fully independent. Britain and Brunei have maintained close defence, educational, and diplomatic links since then, including membership in the Commonwealth. Australia and Brunei have various diplomatic and strategic partnerships. Anthony Albanese’s April 2026 visit to Brunei was the first official bilateral visit by an Australian prime minister. It came at a time when Australia was trying to shore up fuel and fertiliser supplies.
However, it can be a complicated relationship. Brunei officially follows the Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) system, which combines Malay culture, Islam, and monarchy. The country also introduced Sharia Law in 2014. Brunei has some of the harshest laws on same-sex relationships in the world. The most controversial provisions came into effect in 2019. For men, certain forms of consensual same-sex sexual activity can legally carry the death penalty by stoning. For women, same-sex sexual activity can be punished by whipping and imprisonment. The legislation also criminalises some forms of gender expression by transgender people. However, due to massive international backlash, Brunei’s Sultan, Hassanal Bolkiah, backtracked and announced a moratorium on the death penalty, but still stood behind the law.
“Both the common law and the Syariah law aim to ensure peace and harmony in the country. They are also crucial in protecting the morality and decency of the public as well as respecting the privacy of individuals,” he said in a televised announcement.
Hassanal Bolkiah became Sultan in 1967 after his own father abdicated and is now the world’s second-longest-reigning current monarch, just behind King Charles III. He turned 80 in July 2026.
He has been married several times and has 12 children — five sons and seven daughters. His current wife and Queen Consort is Queen Saleha (Duli Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha). His heir is Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah, who is the Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and is married with four children.
However, the daughter-in-law this story is about is Pengiran Anak Isteri Raabi’atul Adawiyyah, wife of Prince Abdul Malik, the Sultan’s second son.
Raabi’atul Adawiyyah, 33, married the Sultan’s son, Prince Abdul Malik, in April 2015.
Their wedding was a lavish, 10-day royal affair held at the family’s enormous Istana Nurul Iman palace in Bandar Seri Begawan, culminating in their wedding ceremony on April 12. The couple has four daughters together. Until now, she had the title “Pengiran Anak Isteri”, which essentially identifies her as the wife of a member of the Brunei royal family.
The Borneo Bulletin reported that the Sultan’s announcement stated that “the withdrawal was due to actions deemed inappropriate for a spouse of a member of the Royal Family, which had tarnished the good name of and demonstrated disrespect towards His Majesty, Her Majesty Duli Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha and the Royal Family.”
The New Straits Times reported that the “revocation was carried out following conduct by Pengiran Raabi’atul Adawiyyah that was deemed unbecoming of a spouse of a member of the royal family. Her actions were also found to have tarnished the monarchy’s good name and demonstrated a lack of respect towards Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.”
But — and this is the important bit — the palace has not publicly explained what she allegedly did. There have been rumours and speculation online about the circumstances surrounding the decision, but none of those claims have been confirmed by the Brunei authorities.
The Sultan has previously stripped former wives of their royal titles following divorce. But this time, the title has been withdrawn from a daughter-in-law, while there has been no public announcement that her marriage has ended.
The couple’s four daughters have not been stripped of their own royal titles.
Until the royal household provides more information, that is something the public may simply have to keep guessing about…
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