Reuters shone a light on the descendants of the 19th century monarch who ceded control of Singapore to the British: ordinary people working offices or driving taxis. Few residents in one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities are even aware of this lineage. Until the turn of this century, some of them still lived in their ancestral home, a crowded, dilapidated palace, before they were evicted by the government which turned it into a museum. Seventy nine descendants, of whom 14 were living in the palace, were offered payouts as part of colonial-era deal to provide for the Sultan’s family, the government said at the time. Many of the others were living overseas, it said.

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