Pinoys love making royal and celebrity connections everywhere, and low-key stan royal families.
But how many royal families are actually out there?
Europe has 12 monarchs, the most popular of which is the British Royal Family, as Queen Elizabeth II remains the most popular royal even after her death in 2022.
But Asia actually has 13 Kings, Emperors, and Emirs in power, more than any other continent. This excludes constituent monarchies and regional sultanates.
So when it comes to royal connections, it shouldn't be surprising that there are Filipino celebrities who actual have connections to the royal blood.
PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) gives a quick round-up of Filipino celebrities and personalities with royals as their “call a friend/family.”
Ayen Munji-Laurel
Before Ayen married fellow thespian Franco Laurel in 2001, the singer-actress was first married to Prince Jefri Bolkiah in 1995.
Jefri is the youngest son of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, so Ayen took on the royal title of Princess. She also converted to Islam back then and their seven-year union bore one son, Prince Hasan.
Read: Ayen Munji-Laurel clarifies misconceptions about her past as a princess in Brunei
Aside from her son with the Bruneian royalty, Ayen has four other children.
The actress was last seen on GMA-7’s Start-Up Ph, the Philippine adaption of the hit K-drama by the same name.
Samantha Richelle Bolkiah
Samantha Richelle Bolkiah is another Pinay with ties to the wealthy Brunei royal family.
She was born to Prince Jefri Bolkiah and his then-wife Evangeline Teodoro del Rosario. Prince Jefri is the brother of the current Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah.
While she was born and raised in Brunei, Samantha Richelle, as she prefers to be called, went to Los Angeles for secondary education. She also lived in London and the Philippines.
Samantha Richelle is known for playing Kai Mendoza on the American-Filipino crime drama Almost Paradise (2020-2023), where she has writing and directing credits.
In 2020, she founded her own RTW fashion label focusing on casual and formal wear.
She is married to footballer Anton del Rosario and they have one son, a teenager, Myles Richelle. Currently, the family appears to be based in Los Angeles.
While Samantha Richelle tries to downplay her royal background, she does seem to be good friends with Princess Ezurin Khyra–model, social media star, and once married to Negeri Sembilan royal Tunku Dato’Yaacob Khyra of Malaysia.
KC del Rosario
Born Karraminah Clarisse, KC is another daughter of Brunei's Prince Jefri Bolkiah and Evangeline del Rosario, making her Samantha’s younger sister.
Her Filipina mother Evangeline was renamed Puan Fatimah binti Abdullah née Evangeline Teodoro del Rosario during her marriage to the prince.
KC has served as the face of a London-based make-up line, and is one of the muses of photographer and visual artist Mark Nicdao.
She has also studied fashion and fine arts, and is a digital maven who uses her social media to promote everything visual. She is the modern-day It Girl with a wardrobe and estate fit for a princess.
KC is mostly based in the Philippines, but goes to Brunei every couple of months to spend time with her cousins and half-siblings.
Hasan Jefri
Hasan Jefri, as he coined himself, was born Prince Hasan to Prince Jefri Bolkiah and Ayen Munji-Laurel.
Based on social media, Hasan spent the majority of the pandemic locked-in with his mother Ayen Munji-Laurel and her family in the Philippines.
His latest relationship is with someone he calls Detka or Russian for baby, @reginameinu on Instagram. Other than their posts there, the half-Pinoy hardly appears anywhere else that we can see for now.
Hasan is a martial artist of Muay Thai and boxing.
Badi del Rosario
Badi del Rosario, son of Bruneian Prince Jefri Bolkiah, has been more known as a musician for the better part of his adult life.
As lead vocalist of Pinoy horror rock band Mr. Bones & the Boneyard Circus, Badi is also known as Bones Frankestein. His band makes aggressive, gothy, psychotic, circus gritty, theatrical macabre, rock metal music.
A few years ago, the rockstar frontman was in a four-year relationship with actress Arci Muñoz. At one point, after the pair had split, their bands were competing in the MYX Music Awards 2018 for Rock Video of the Year.
Badi is now a father to daughter Malena, whom he shares with his non-showbiz girlfriend.
Isabel Preysler
Isabel Preysler was the It Girl before influencers and the Internet came to be.
While Isabel wasn’t born into royalty, she was married from 1980-1985 to a Spanish peer, Carlos Falcó y Fernandez de Córdoba, 5th Marquess of Griñón.
Tamara, her only child with Carlos Falco, inherited one of his titles. This makes Tamara the 6th Marchioness of Griñón.
Isabel was also previously married to former footballer and Spanish crooner, Julio Iglesias. She is the mother of singers Enrique Iglesias and Julio Iglesias, Jr., and also has three other children.
She also recently ended a 8-year relationship with Peruvian Nobel laureate writer, journalist, and politician Mario Vargas Llosa.
Colorful love life aside, Isabel made a name for herself as a Spanish-Filipina television host, journalist, high-profile socialite, and businesswoman.
While some of our royals have very visible social media, what is common is their low-key mentions and view of royalty. None of them have titles or actively have themselves addressed as prince, princess, or any other royal title.
They live life on their own merits and achievements and that’s something we can all aspire to do.