The Malaysia’s National Palace said in a statement that the 49-year-old Sultan Muhammad V had resigned with immediate effect, cutting short his five-year term.
Though, the palace did not reveal the exact reason behind the king’s decision, media report suggest the move came after the king tied knot to a former Russian beauty queen and his ill health condition.
He is said to have married a 25-year-old former Russian beauty queen in last November.
The reports in Russian and British media and on social media featured pictures of the wedding, which reportedly took place in Moscow.
Sultan Muhammad V, ruler of northeast Kelantan state, was installed in December 2016 as one of Malaysia’s youngest constitutional monarchs.
Under a unique system maintained since Malaysia’s independence from Britain in 1957, nine hereditary state rulers take turns as king for five-year terms.This is the first abdication in Malaysia’s history.
