Tengku Intan Zaharah

Tengku Intan Zaharah binti Tengku Hitam Omar bin Tengku Muda Osman, also known as Tuanku Intan Zaharah binti Almarhum Tengku Seri Setia Raja, is the Tengku Ampuan Tua of Terengganu. She was formerly the Sultanah of Terengganu and the fourth Raja Permaisuri Agong.

Early life

Tengku Intan was born in Singapore on April 13, 1928.

Her father, Tengku Setia Raja Terengganu, was a member of the Singapore royal family, serving in the Terengganu State Civil Service as the State Secretary of Terengganu; he was exiled since the death of the last Sultan of Singapore, Alauddin Alam Shah, in 1897.

Her mother was HH Raja Zainab binti Raja Alang.

She received her education at the Malay School in Telok Kurau and Katong Convent, Singapore.

Royal Life

She married Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Zainal Abidin III (then Tengku Paduka Raja of Terengganu)on 3 April 1944 as his second wife. She had no children with him.

In 1945, the British Military Administration (BMA) under Lord Louis Mountbatten deposed Sultan Ali of Terengganu and chose Sultan Ismail to succeed his nephew. Accordingly, Tengku Intan Zaharah became Tengku Ampuan Besar (or Queen) on June 6, 1949.

She served as Raja Permaisuri Agong during her husband's reign as Yang di-Pertuan Agong. In 1979, upon her husband's death she was created Tengku Ampuan of Terengganu. In 1998, on the death of her stepson, Sultan Mahmud Al-Muktafi Billah Shah, she became Tengku Ampuan Tua of Terengganu.

Awards

Her Majesty was awarded the Grand Order of the Mugunghwa by the President of the Republic of Korea on 7 February 1966. She was also conferred the Darjah Utama Seri Mahkota Negara (the Most Exalted Order of the Crown of the Realm) on 6 April 1966.

See also

*Yang di-Pertuan Agong
*Raja Permaisuri Agong