Bertram Willes Dayrell Brooke

Who was Bertram Willes Dayrell Brooke?

Captain Bertram Willes Dayrell Brooke, Tuan Muda of Sarawak was a member of the family of White Rajahs who ruled Sarawak for a hundred years. He was the son of Charles, the second of these rajahs, and brother to Vyner of Sarawak, the third and final ruler of that family. He was sometime heir presumptive to his brother, a claim he relinquished in favour of his son. He held the title of "Tuan Muda" and the style of "His Highness".

Brooke was educated at Winchester College and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was president of Cambridge University Boat Club and rowed in the Boat Race in 1900 and 1901, and he was a member of the Pitt Club. He went on to serve in the Royal Horse Artillery during the First World War and act as Special Commissioner from Sarawak to the UK.

He married Gladys Milton Palmer on 28 June 1904. She was the only child of Sir Walter Palmer, 1st Baronet MP and his wife, Jean, Lady Palmer, and as wife of the Tuan Muda took the title of "Dayang Muda" and the style of "Her Highness". In 1922 she formed a film company which produced just one film. She converted to Islam in Paris in 1939, taking the name Khair un-nisa binti 'Abdu'llah.