Royal Wedding Guest List Includes Virtually Unknown Rulers

The British Royal Family, family of the bride, and friends will be surrounded by dignitaries, members of Parliament, and celebrities when Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate Middleton exchange vows April 29. Among those on the guest list, however, are members of foreign royal families from world countries and Kingdom's many of us have never heard of but have strong ties to the British Royal Family.

The Sultan of Brunei

Sultan Hassanal Bolkjah Mu'lzzadin Waddaulah was installed as Crown Prince in 1961 when he was 15-years old. When his father abdicated, he was proclaimed Sultan and crowned the 29th Sultan of Brunei - a country located in Southeast Asia on the island of Borneo and a one time a British protectorate - in 1968. He also serves as the country's Prime Minister.

The Sultan of Brunei will attend the Royal Wedding with his wife, Her Majesty Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha. He has been married three times and is the father of five sons and seven daughters.

The Sultan and his wife left their country April 24 for London.

The King of Swaziland, Mswati III

Mswati III was crowned King of Swaziland, a kingdom located between South Africa and Mozambique, in 1986. He is the second eldest of a whopping 67 sons born to his father, the late King Sabhuza II, and the only child of Queen Ntombi - one of 70 wives to the late King.

The King has ties to England as he was partly educated there and Swaziland was once a part of Britain before gaining its independence in 1968, the same year the King was born.

King Mswati III is the father of 27 children and currently has a total of 13 wives and soon-to-be wives. Whew!

The King of Tonga

Oxford educated King George Toupou V's coronation took place in 2008 in the Kingdom of Tonga located in the South Pacific. He passed much of his power over to the Prime Minister not long after he ascended the throne. The King is a bachelor and known playboy who has never married.

Tonga is made up of 176 islands and has recently made the transition to a constitutional monarchy.

The Telegraph reports the King is "often seen traveling around Tonga's main island Tongatapu in his black London cab."