Monarchies Today - Royalty around the globe: SULTAN MUHAMMAD V of Kelantan AT 50

HRH Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan, former King of Malaysia turns 50 today. His official birthday was scheduled for November 11 in his Sultanate (& September 9 while still the Head of State, before his surprising move to step down last January, which make history in his country). However, the death of his father, Sultan Ismail Petra just over a week ago, aged 69, plounged the royal family into 100 days of mourning & supposelly cancelled the November celebrations (when the deceased would have turned 70).

Sultan Muhammad V of Kelantan

It was nine years ago, back in September 2010, when the Succession Council of Kelantan - one of the most conservative states in North-Eastern, Peninsular Malaysia - proclaimed him the monarch, against his father's will. Sultan Ismail, the absolute monarch from 1979, had suffered a stroke in May 2009, which sent him for treatment in Singapore & made then Tengku Mahkota (Crown Prince) Muhammad Faris Petra the rightful regent during the Ruler's absence first & then due to his incapacity. After more than a year of royal uncertainty, the 39-year-old Regent was decided to replace his 60-year-old father as the Sultan, after the latter was deemed incapacitated to because of his poor health. The succession occured on September 13 (2010), though former Sultan never accepted it & challenged the Council's decision as unconstitutional via the Federal Court, but lost to its judgment.

Ailing Sultan Ismail Petra with his wife Tengku Anis (left)

As the rightful 29th Sultan of Kelantan, Faris, who took the regnal name: Muhammad V, become equivalent to the eight other Malay Rulers, eligible to the office of Head of State, which has been rotated every five years between them (starting by an order of seniority) since Malaysia's Independence. Thus in 2011, Sultan Muhammad V was selected as Deputy King & then in 2016 came his turn to serve as the 15th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (office equivalent to a King's). His reign began in December 2016, with his Installation (customary enthronement) taking place in April 2017. It was scheduled to last until December 2021, and was particularly noted as the first one without a Raja Permaisuri Agong ('Queen' Consort). The King had been a divorse since 2008.

YDP Agong Sultan Muhammad V
marrying Miss Moscow 2015, Oksana Voevodina

In late November 2018, Malaysians were surprised & amazed when photos of their King marrying a young Russian model made headlines in foreign press. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong was at the time on a two-month "medical leave", and neither Kelantanese Royal Palace, nor the State Palace in capital Kuala Lumpur confirmed or denied these rumours. According to then reports, Muhammad V, 49, married to Oksana Voevodina (/Gorbatenko), 25, a former Miss Moscow (2015) beauty pageant winner, who had converted to Islam in April (2018), taking the name Rihanna. The glittering ceremony took place in Russia on Thursday, November 22, 2018, with both sides' traditions preserved (& no alcohol, just halal food served). Some of Malaysians warmly accepted their King's marriage, with even some sources reporting her as their new Queen (& future Raja Perempuan/Royal Consort of Kelantan). Though no announcement still came from the palaces. Meanwhile reports emerged that the King's wife is treated in a German fertility clinic, expecting the couple's first child.

Then the "shock" came after a lot of speculation. Sultan Muhammad V stepped down as Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia, just few days after his return from leave at the beginning of 2019. Muhammad V became the first sovereign monarch in modern Malaysian history to cut short his five-year-reign via Abdication. The announcement was announced on Sunday, January 6 the day of Tengku Anis Tengku Abdul Hamid (The King's mother's) 70th birthday. It was of immediate effect.

Tengku Anis came from the royal family of fellow Sultanate of Terengganu. She had married Ismail Petra (then Tengku Mahkota of Kelantan) in 1968 & 1969 (two ceremonies) & was the legal Royal Consort (Raja Perempuan) of Kelantan even after her husband's deposition. She was reportedly a strict mother (while upbringing her four children) & took 'special care' of her husband following his condition deteriorated. I would say that it is not strange that 'Sultan Ismail filled' through his lawyers to an irrevocable divorse (talak tiga) from his second wife in 2010, while recuperating from his stroke. At least, Tengku Anis evidently supported her husband's position while claiming their son's enthronement illegal & previously, when Faris as Regent had outsted his youngest brother Muhammad Fakhry Petra from the succession council, where the latter had been appointed by Sultan Ismail. The last time Sultan Muhammad V was shown with his mother before his abdication, was at the beginning of his reign as Yang di-Pertuan Agong, when the King was departing for capital to take his oath of office. He paid her his respects, shook her hand & received her blessings, with no kisses exchanged between mother and son.

Muhammad V paying respects to his mother on his first day as King

Tengku Anis & Sultan Ismail reached their Golden wedding anniversary just weeks after Sultan Muhammad's reported marriage. The reaction of the King's father (who was either in & out of hospital, or convinced to a wheelchair at the time) couldn't be known. But a pressure from his powerful mother (on Ismail's behalf) was very possible. In addition, speculations reached the other Malay Royal Households. An extraordinary meeting of the Royal Council (consisted of Malay monarchs or regents) took place for an undisclosed matter (& in absolute privacy) just days before the abdication. It's concurrence with Tengku Anis' milestone could have been more than just that...

Faiz's wedding to Cik Sofie Louise Johansson on April 19

Some months passed without news from 'the pair'. Sultan Muhammad V made rare appearances & was often replaced by his younger brother Tengku Muhammad Faiz Petra (who served as regent during his YDP Agong's term). Faiz's wedding last April to Swedish Sofie Louise Johansson was recognised & attended by his parents & royal family, but notably missed by the Sultan. From Rihanna no certain news were published, but pictures showing her dressed in bikini & having sex in pool with a collegue for a reality show had been circling in the internet from the very moment her popularity rose. Eventually, Oksana came to the headlines again, when she created her Instagram account, with the name Rihanna Petra (adopting her husband's family name). There she revealed more photos from the wedding in Russia, as well as the unknown first marriage ceremony in Malaysia, on June 7, 2018. Furthermore she proudly announced the birth of their son & future heir to the throne: Tengku Ismail Leon Petra Bin Sultan Muhammad V Faris Petra, who arrived on Wednesday May 21 (2019).

Throughout June & early July Rihanna continued to share about her experience of maternity & love story with her husband, whom she reportedly met in Spring 2017 & they fell in love with each other quickly. At first no official respond was given by any Malay sources. However, it was apparent that there wasn't a common photo of Sultan Muhammad & his son as well as that at all photos of the baby boy his facial details were occurately hidden. In ~ the middle of July Malaysian media begin claiming their separation & divorse, citing on reliable sources, close to the Sultan's palace, while on July 20 it was confirmed that Muhammad V had irrevocably divorsed Voevodina by talak tiga on June 22. An official certificate of divorse (signed in Singapore on July 1) was made public as well. Oksana did not confirm anything, while her lawyers & sources close to her family had been denying it, despite the documents stated that she had been informed. Nothing more was by then disclosed, with some sources close to Muhammad claimed that his paternity of the child was not evident at all. They also claimed that she was still living in a luxury residence he provided her, demanding still his economic contribution.

When divorse was confirmed, Rihanna Petra (who turned 27 on July 10) at first avoided detailed publications, then defended herself & her son from the attacks she received from "yellow media", still siting loyalty to her husband (who wouldn't allow it "as a decent Muslim"); finally at the beginning of September she published that she's ready to reveal the "painful truth" about their relationship. She started with her first trip to Malaysia, when Muhammad prayed in front of her (promising to teach her 'everything about Islam'). At the time she also revealed that she saw from the very beginning the father of her children in his face; Muhammad meanwhile had told her that all women used him for money & didn't produce him a child (which was the 'biggest dream of his life'). Oksana as well reported that he told her about his previous marriage to a Czesh woman, whom he had divorsed in 2015, something that haven't been officially reported as well.

Sultan Muhammad V & Tengku Faiz Petra (right)

Soon afterwards, a representative from the Kelantan palace' responded on behalf of the Sultan, condemning social media sources & the inappropriate usage of titles without any statement by the official royal source. He told of these sources as lies & defamatory for the state's royalty, urging the people not to be confused by them & follow only to verifyable sources (& relay to the proper usage of royal titles). He added as well that the Sultan regrets over some past choices that may have associated him & his family with slander & hopes people to pray for the wellbeing of his ailing father "whom he loves dearly". Oksana was to temporary stop her posts once again. Sultan Muhammad V (who had begun to appear at customary prayers & ceremonies, related to muslim feasts) was to stop being the same permanently. His 'dear father' Sultan Ismail Petra, whom he himself had deposed, but who outlived the most significant part of his son's reigns (over the past decades), was to die on Saturday, September 28 (2019), less than two months before being 70 on November 11 (which would have also been the official celebration of his son's 50th birthday). Out of respect these all are now cancelled.

Almarhum Sultan Ismail Petra (1949 - 2019)

Oksana made her last post about the topic on October 3, from an interview she gave on a TV Channel on September 27. She told that Muhammad V had left her from December 2018, with no contact with him & his relatives possible. She wished him to think about his responsibility towards 'their son' (about whom she was very enthusiastic), but denied the need of any DNA' test citing his birth as planed & desired. Muhammad V of course didn't made further statement. Used of the hurt he received by 'a lot of women' before, pressured by his family & strict traditions of state & country (that played a critical role for his live & reputation in recent years), and being tied of the respect he bears as 'decent muslim' to the legacy of his late father & continuation of his Sultanate traditions (which are now depending completely of His custody), he limited himself to his duties, breaking apart with his 'adventurous past'. He marked his birthday in a close family circle, from now on as legal Head of his family. OF HIS FAMILY OF BIRTH; NOT OF LOVE.