64-year old coal man discovers real father was third sultan of Perak in Malaysia

zainab quadri

January 20, 2016 1:45 PM

A man who was adopted as toddler more than 60 years ago has discovered he is really the eldest son of Malaysian sultan.

64-year old poor man discovers father was third sultan of Perak in Malaysia

Keith Williams, from South Wales, learned of his royal connection after he was told he was adopted.

He was able to finally trace his real mother but unfortunately it was too late for the 64-year-old to make contact with his father the 33rd Sultan of Perak, as he died 32 years ago.

His real mum Elizabeth Rosa was working as a 17-year-old trainee nurse at a children’s hospital in Carshalton, Surrey when she had a whirlwind affair with a handsome Malay prince who was studying in London.

Pregnant Elizabeth went home to Swansea and gave up her four-month-old baby boy for adoption - while the prince was sent back to Malaya to avoid a scandal.

The new Sultan moved into the magnificent Istana Iskandariah palace in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar and ruled until he died from a heart attack in 1984.

Life was very different for Keith who left school at 15 and joined his adoptive dad’s coal delivery business in Penygroes near Llanelli, where he still lives with his wife Vanessa.

Keith, aged 64, told the Mirror: “I spent 20 years delivering coal - to discover I'm a sultan's son is a fairytale come true"

Keith said: “I was in my late forties when I found my mum and it was a shock really, a bit upsetting - to find out you are the son of a Sultan is just something you wouldn’t expect.

“After finding my mum I obviously went a step further and tried to contact my dad but it wasn’t easy because of his Royal connections.

“I discovered my dad died in 1984 and tried to get in touch with his ten children.

“I made contact with one or two on Facebook and they could see the family resemblance from my photo - but because of the sensitivity it was all quite low profile. I didn’t speak to any of them.”

Filming a documentary for S4C, Mr Williams and his youngest son, Timothy, visited Malaysia to find out more about his father's side of the family.

On his travels Mr Williams encountered difficulties as he tried to make contact with the family, but met his half-sister, Her Royal Highness Ku Ess.

He believes their reluctance to meet him could stem from a fear that he could lay claim to his father's title and fortunes.

But Mr Williams said: 'I just wanted to find out more about myself. But I've seen what I wanted to see - I have seen my father's tomb, which was very emotional for me.'

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