Photos: Malaysia inaugurates its new king in a lavish ceremony

In Malaysia, even the monarchy has term limits.

The country’s unique constitutional monarchy ensures there’s a new ruler at the throne every five years. The ceremonial ruler is rotated among nine of 13 states that have hereditary royal rulers.

In a lavish ceremony at Kuala Lumpur’s national palace on Dec. 13, 47-year-old Sultan Muhammad V became the 15th king of Malaysia. The ceremony, which was attended by prime minister Najib Razak (who is currently embroiled in a massive corruption scandal) and hundreds soldiers and Islamic prayers, was televised nationally.

Educated in the UK, the new king has a love of extreme sports such as four-wheel drive expeditions and shooting. He married Tengku Zubaidah Tengku Norudin from a royal family in Thailand’s Pattani in 2004, but the marriage ended in a divorce.

Here are photos from the ceremony: