British Royal Visits To Brunei
THE BRUNEI TIMES, 30 OCTOBER 2016 British Royal Visits to Brunei by Rozan Yunos The recent state visits by the Emir of Kuwait and the President of the Philippines did not faze the public very much in Brunei. The Brunei people are so accustomed to seeing heads of states and heads of governments visiting Brunei ever since Brunei became an independent nation in 1984. It was not the case before that. When Brunei was still a British Protectorate state, there was no regular visit of such prestige. Over the course of about eighty years prior to full independence, there were only visits by the British Monarch and members of the British Royal Family. When they visited Brunei, they were treated with great pomp and ceremony. During the reign of His Majesty Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien, there were two such visits. It was sixty four years ago to this month that Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent and her son, the Duke of Kent visited Brunei. It was on Octo