In the kingdom of gold it is now time to cry.
The half million inhabitants of Brunei mourn the death of Prince Azim, sixth son of the Sultan, second son and fourth in the line of succession to the throne.
The 38-year-old man expired on Saturday after a long illness, according to the government of the Asian country through an official statement that did not offer more details regarding the causes of his death.
The funeral services took place on the same Saturday, which marked the beginning of a week of official mourning.
The remains of the prince rest in the royal mausoleum of the Bruneian capital, Bandar Seri Begawan.
Leaders of neighboring nations expressed their condolences for the death of the young man.
Azim "was known for his kind and generous spirit, as well as his dedication to charitable causes related to the education of young people," recalled the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong.
Haji Abdul Azim was born in 1982, the first son of the Sultan with his second wife, Hajah Mariam, who was a flight attendant for the national airline.
The prince began his education in Brunei before moving to the United Kingdom.
After completing his university studies, he entered the prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy, but it soon became clear that this was not his path: he did not even complete his first week.
Just a year later, she was designing unisex bags.
Azim soon became an
international
socialite
, known for her lavish parties attended by stars such as Pamela Anderson or Janet Jackson or Mariah Carey.
The latter pocketed 1.22 million euros in exchange for privately performing three songs for the young man, who liked to party extravagantly every New Year's night.
He also participated in solidarity campaigns, particularly those related to autism.
At the time of his death, his personal assets were estimated at $ 5 billion (€ 4.23 billion).
He developed his professional activity as a producer in Hollywood, heading the firm Daryl Prince Productions.
Among its most prominent titles is
I will always be with you
, a 2014 drama starring Hilary Swank that tiptoed across the billboard.
Izam chose to keep a low profile after the Brunei government announced its intention to impose Sharia, Islamic law, on the country.
This decision generated enormous rejection in the West for, among other things, punishing homosexuality with the death penalty.
As a result of what happened, the well-known commentator of the heart, Perez Hilton, uploaded a video to YouTube in which he affirmed that the prince himself was gay, something that he claimed to know first-hand because "we have spent time together."
The sultan thus loses his second son.
Hassanal Bolkiah, as he is called, may find comfort in a wealth that seems to have no limits, nor his power in the country, which he rules as absolute monarch.
For many years he was one of the richest men in the world, thanks to Brunei's abundant deposits of oil and natural gas.
Hassanal Bolkiah has held the throne since his father's abdication in 1967, making him the second-longest living Head of State to hold the position, behind only Queen Elizabeth II of England.