Keith the Coal steps up fight as Malaysian royals ‘close ranks’
A WELSH coal worker who discovered he is related to Malaysian royalty is stepping up his battle to claim his inheritance.
Keith Williams spent 20 years grafting in his adoptive father’s coal business in South Wales before deciding to trace his biological roots.
And the 66-year-old could never have imagined the astonishing discovery he was to make.
The humble Carmarthenshire man known as Keith y Glo (Keith the Coal) was the illegitimate firstborn son of the 33rd Sultan of Perak in Malaysia.
He flew out to try to meet his new family but claims that following initial contact he was given the cold shoulder.
And while stressing he has no interest in vying for the throne, he is now determined to claim any inheritance his royal father may have left him.
Keith said: “It is a shame they have decided to close ranks on me. I understand if they feel threatened but it’s not like I am claiming the throne. I am sure my father knew about me and if he did I am sure he would have left something behind for me and I think it is only right I know about it.”
When Keith learned of his origins, it was too late to make contact with his father, Idris Iskandar Al-Mutawakkil Alallahi Shah, as he died in 1984.
Keith’s mum, Elizabeth Rosa, was 17 and a trainee nurse at a children’s hospital in Carshalton, Surrey, when she met the royal while he was studying in the UK. They had a whirlwind affair and she became pregnant.
Elizabeth was forced to go home to Swansea and give up Keith for adoption, and the prince was sent back to Malaysia to avoid a scandal. After his return, he served as the state’s 33rd Sultan of Perak from 1963 until his death.
Malaysia has nine Sultanates and the families live opulent lifestyles in palaces.
It is unclear what Keith’s family are worth but business magazine Forbes has revealed the current Sultan’s daughter, Eleena Azlan Shah, was worth £151million in 2012. However, Keith, of Penygroes, stresses his move is not about greed.
He said: “Of course they are worth a consid- With half-sis Ku Ess