Lavish celebrations for the wedding of Brunei’s popular Prince Abdul Mateen and his commoner fiancee have shone a spotlight on the oil-rich sultanate in Southeast Asia.
A tiny tropical nation on the northern edge of Borneo island, Brunei is one of the wealthiest countries in the world due to its abundant energy reserves.
It is an absolute monarchy ruled by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the father of the groom and world’s longest reigning monarch, who was once the richest man on the planet.
Here are some facts about the country:
The history of the coastal sultanate, which is surrounded by Malaysia, stretches back centuries.
It was at its peak in the 15th century when it had an empire controlling large swathes of Borneo, but declined as European powers extended their colonial rule across Asia.
In 1888, it became a British protectorate.
However, it was not subsumed into the new states that were…
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