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A man adopted as a toddler more than 60 years ago has discovered he is in fact the first born son of a Malaysian sultan.

Keith Williams, a coal merchant from Carmarthenshire, decided to find out about his birth parents - but he could never have imagined the discovery he was about to make.

Not only was his bloodline from a country more than 6,000 miles away, he is in fact the first born son of a Malaysian sultan, WalesOnline reported .

Living in Penygroes, Mr Williams was adopted as a two-year-old and had no idea of his royal bloodline.

But having begun a personal journey to trace his biological parents, he discovered his royal connection after he traced his mother over the boarder to Peterborough.

“When I was 13, my mother told me I was adopted. I’d never given it a thought. I never imagined I was related to a royal family from the other side of the world,” said Mr Williams.

But his meeting with Elizabeth Rosa, his biological mother, eventually led to the discovery of his father’s incredible status.

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Mr Williams, 64, uncovered a true story he said was more suited to fairytales than life as a coal merchant.

His biological mother had been a trainee nurse in Surrey when she fell pregnant.

“When she was doing her training, she met this man. He turned out to be my father. He was studying in London. They went out together for quite some time. She found out she was pregnant, expecting me. Because she was there under the council’s care she had to come home as soon as she discovered she was pregnant. So she came back to Llanelli. Trying to find the man she loved but he’d gone.”

The man she met in London and who was her boyfriend for a time was from Malaysia.

“She gave me photographs which show how he lived out there. He was connected to the royal family and was made a Sultan back in 1963.”

The father-of-three’s incredible findings were the subject of an S4C documentary, Fy Nhad y Swltan (My Father the Sultan).

Mr Williams, known as Keith y Glo - Keith the Coal, was born in Llanelli and spent more than 20 years working in his adoptive father’s coal business, but in later years embarked on a voyage of discovery in a bid to trace his biological roots.

Keith, who has six granddaughters, eventually discovered his biological father was actually a member of the Malaysian monarchy – who served as the 33rd Sultan of the Perak state after returning to his homeland from the UK.

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Keith said: “It’s like a story from a Disney film and if someone had told you this story in the café or by the bar, you’d tell them to get out.

“Finding out that my dad came from Malaysia was a bit of a shock. When I found my birth mother, I discovered she had kept lots of old photos and information about him.”

Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Shah served as Sultan from January 1963 until January 1984, when he died of a heart attack.

Filming a documentary for S4C Mr Williams and his youngest son Timothy visited Malaysia to find out more about his father’s side of the family.

On his travels, Mr Williams encountered difficulties as he tried to make contact with the family.

He believes their reluctance to meet him could stem from a fear that he could lay claim to his father’s title and vast fortunes.

But it seems leaving his home and family is the last thing on his mind.

Mr Williams said: “I didn’t make this programme as something against them, I just wanted to find out more about myself.

“I can imagine why they would be sensitive about it, but I’ve seen what I wanted to see; I have seen my father’s tomb, which was very emotional for me.

“The whole experience has been a dream to be honest, because I would never have thought that I’d get to go over to Malaysia to find out more about my father.”