Sweden's King Expected To Arrive Brunei Today

Bandar Seri Begawan - Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf is expected to arrive Brunei on a three-day private visit today.

He is dropping by after attending the 20th World Scout Jamboree in Sattahip, in Thailand.

At the Jamboree, reports said, he wore a bright blue scout's uniform, sang songs and camped with Swedish scouts during last weekend.

The king, 56, honorary chairman of the World Scout Foundation since 1977, arrived at the scout village Saturday and spent the night among more than 20,000 boy and girl scouts from 144 countries.

The participants pitched tents in a field 110 miles southeast of Bangkok for the jamboree, international scouting's biggest festival, from Dec. 28 through Tuesday.

The king said the workshops being held at the Jamboree's "Global Development Village" were a powerful educational tool that the scouts could use to highlight issues such as refugees and removing land mines.

The World Scout Jamboree has been held every four years in a different country since the 1920s.

In Brunei the king is expected to make a call on His Majesty at Istana Nurul Iman and visit places of interest and meet local scouts.

The official Swedish royal website can be found at www.royalcourt.se.

Brudirect.com