Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke
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The Rajah Muda of Sarawak whilst at Eton.

Anthony Walter Dayrell Brooke, (born 10 December 1912), was appointed His Highness the Rajah Muda of Sarawak (heir apparent) on 25 August 1937, and succeeded to the title of Rajah in 1963, on the death of Rajah Vyner.

Brooke is the son of Bertram, Tuan Muda of Sarawak. He was the nephew of its third and last ruling White Rajah, his father's elder brother Rajah Vyner of Sarawak.

Background

In 1946, Rajah Vyner ceded Sarawak to the Colonial Office, in exchange for a sizeable pension for him and his three daughters. Anthony Brooke, the designated heir, initially opposed cession to the Crown along with a majority of the native members of the Council Negri (Parliament). In 1951, however, he renounced any claim to the title, although is, de jure, the pretender to the throne.

Career

Brooke was educated at Eton College, Trinity College, Cambridge and SOAS.¹ Throughout the 1930s he served the Sarawak civil service in various sectors, including the Land and Registry Department, and as a magistrate.¹

Anthony Brooke was enlisted in the British Army as a private soldier November 1941 and served in World War II , between 1941 and 1944, as a Lieutenant in the Intelligence Corps on the staff of the SAC SEAC at Kandy, Ceylon in 1944. He was Special Commissioner for Sarawak in the UK from 1944-1945.

He was appointed as Heir Apparent with the title of Rajah Muda of Sarawak on 25 August 1937 and granted the personal style of His Highness. Having been responsible for administering Sarawak between 1939 and 1940 in the absence of the Rajah, he was deprived of his styles and titles on 17 January 1940, then dismissed and expelled from the state in September 1941, following a dispute with his uncle, Rajah Vyner, over his marriage to a commoner.²

Anthony was restored as Rajah Muda after consultations between his uncle and father in 1944. He was, however, deprived of his titles again on 12 October 1945.¹

Personal life

Brooke was married firstly, in Rangoon, Burma to Kathleen Mary Hudden (1907-1981),¹ who became the Ranee Muda of Sarawak. They had three children:

• James Bertram Lionel Brooke (born 1940), married firstly Victoria Holdsworth (b. 1949), she would later marry Sir Paul Getty, married second Karen Mary Lappin (b. 1955). He has two sons by his second wife and currently lives in Dublin:
  • Laurence Nicholas Brooke (born 1983), at London, UK, Educated Bruntsfield School, and The Erasmus Smith School Dublin.
  • Jason Desmond Anthony Brooke (born 1985), at London, UK, Educated Bruntsfield School, and The Erasmus Smith School Dublin. Obtained a BA Degree in English Literature from University College Dublin, and elected Captain of the Boats, University College Dublin Boat Club 2007/2008. Brooke is also a Life Member of the Sarawak Association.

• Angela Carole Brooke (1942-c.1983),
• Celia Margaret Brooke (born 1944), married first to Pirzada Murshidzada David Ray Harper Inayat Khan (son of Inayat Khan), married secondly Marcel Captier of Rennes le Chateau. She had a daughter by her first husband:
  • Sura-un-Nissa Dorée des Anges Brooke Harper (b. 1971), she has one son;
    • Leandro Brooke Harper (b. 1992).¹

They divorced in 1965. Anthony Brooke lived for various periods in London, Sussex and at a caravan park in Scotland. In 1982 he married a fellow peace activist; Brigitte (Gita) Keller (born 1931 in Copenhagen to the Reverend Paul H. Lange) founded Operation Peace Through Unity (OPTU) in Sweden in 1975¹. Since 1987 they have lived together in Wanganui, New Zealand. Brooke is a traveller and lecturer, supporting various movements for peace and universal understanding.

Titles from birth

• Anthony Brooke, Esq. (10 December 1912 - 24 August 1937)
• H.H. The Rajah Muda of Sarawak (25 August 1937 - 16 January 1940)
• Anthony Brooke, Esq. (17 January 1940 - November 1941)
• Private Anthony Brooke (November 1941 - 16 January 1944)
• H.H. The Rajah Muda of Sarawak (17 January 1944 - 1944)
• Lieutenant H.H. The Rajah Muda of Sarawak (1944 - 12 October 1945)
• Lieutenant Anthony Brooke, titular Rajah Muda of Sarawak (12 October 1945 - February 1951)Renounced claim as heir apparent, 1951
• Titular H.H. The Rajah of Sarawak (9 May 1963 - present) He does not exercise any claim, although he succeeded to the right in 1963, upon Vyner's death

References

External links

• Home Page of Anthony Brooke
• Sarawak genealogy
• Operation Peace Through Unity Website