Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah blessing his son Prince Abdul Mateen during the 'istiadat berbedak' ceremony on Jan 10. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Brunei's polo-playing Prince Abdul Mateen, one of Asia's most eligible bachelors, is set to marry his commoner fiancee on Thursday (Jan 11) as part of a lavish 10-day celebration in the oil-rich sultanate.
An Islamic marriage ceremony for the 32-year-old prince and Yang Mulia Anisha Rosnah, 29, will be held inside a gold-domed mosque in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan.
Mateen is the 10th child of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah -- the world's longest reigning monarch and once the richest man on the planet -- and is well down the succession pecking order.
His bride -- the granddaughter of one of his father's key advisers -- reportedly has a fashion brand and co-owns a tourism business.
Celebrations for the royal wedding reach their climax on Sunday with a glittering ceremony in the 1,788-room palace and an elaborate procession.
The guest list is expected to include international royalty and political leaders.
"It's like a fairytale," university student Syahida Wafa Mohamed Shah, 22, told AFP on Wednesday, near the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, where the marriage will be solemnised.
Many Bruneians plan to line the streets for Sunday's procession when the couple will pass by in a royal carriage.
"It's like something from a movie," said Nazatul Izzati Saifulrizal, 19.
While Mateen is unlikely to ever ascend the throne, his matinee idol looks and huge following on social media have made him one of the highest-profile members of the royal family.
A helicopter pilot in his country's air force, he has often been compared in the media with Britain's Prince Harry and was previously dubbed the "hot royal".
Mateen graduated as an officer cadet in Britain's Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and represented his country in polo at the 2019 South-East Asian Games.
In recent years, he has played a growing role in international diplomacy.
The prince accompanied his father to the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla in May last year, and Queen Elizabeth's funeral in 2022. - AFP
