Malaysia's former king 'regrets' giving up throne to marry Russian beauty queen, slams her for spreading 'lies on social media'
The former King of Malaysia who gave up his throne to marry a Russian beauty queen has now said he "regrets the personal choices made in his private life." Sultan Muhammad V, who married Rihanna Oksana Veovodina last year, gave up his throne in January after facing backlash over their relationship, Daily Mail reports.
The Sultan has now claimed they have divorced, but since the situation was shrouded in confusion, the royal palace has released an unprecedented official statement on the case. Muhammad V, who still remains the ruler of Kelantan province, took aim at his estranged wife for alleged "lies on social media" and said the former Miss Moscow had shared a series of posts which have "defamed the royal family" and fanned the flames of the divorce row.
And while Veovodina claims the couple shares a four-month-old son together, the Sultan has suggested the baby may not be his after all.
The official statement from the palace said the Sultan "expresses his regret over the personal choices made in his private life that has caused confusion amongst the rakyat [people], leading to dissension on social media when fuelled with unreliable hearsay."
"The Kelantan Palace is deeply upset and condemns the dissemination of private pictures of His Royal Highness Sultan Muhammad V on social media and all inappropriate postings on His Royal Highness's personal and private matters on social media," the statement read.
"The Kelantan Palace strongly denies any and all comments that are untrue and defamatory that were posted along with the pictures," it continued. "Henceforth, the Kelantan Palace has decided to deviate from the norm and respond to untrue and defamatory statements on social media to defuse the confusion such postings have caused amongst the rakyat [people]."
The duo married each other on June 7 last year in a secret Islamic ceremony. At the time, Muhammad V was still the King of Malaysia. But after lurid reports emerged about the beauty queen's past, concerns began to grow in Malaysia. Among the reports was accounts of Veovodina's appearance on a Russian reality show, in which she was allegedly filmed having sex in a swimming pool. Furthermore, a series of x-rated modeling pictures of the royal wife began to circulate in Malaysia, further fueling discontent among the conservative populace.
In January this year, Sultan Muhammad V caved to the pressure and gave up his throne to be with the Russian bombshell. That said, this was the first abdication in the country since 1957, when it won independence from British rule.
While the relationship fell apart soon after, the 2015 Miss Moscow's camp still denies the pair have divorced.
She said in a recent Instagram post that parents "should spend as much time as possible with their baby", which many believe is a retort to the Sultan who has apparently disowned the child. Veovodina also hinted she would reveal more information on where their relationship stands at the moment.
"I know that everyone really wants to know what happened to us," she wrote alongside a photo of the couple. "Before, I was not ready to reveal my story... Maybe, if I tell you the truth, I will feel better." Veovodina is now reportedly living in a country house near Moscow with the four-month-old child.
The former king's Singapore lawyer released a statement in July, saying there was "no objective evidence as yet as to the biological father of the child," thus infuriating the former model. Furthermore, she also claimed she has still not received any divorce documentation from her estranged husband.
Instead, Veovodina has claimed the Sultan told her "women always used him for money" and that "nobody gave him any babies." "He told me that he never had children, and that was the biggest dream of his life," she said.