But now he has been forced to reveal the extent of his indulgences by supplying the Privy Council in London with details of his personal finances.

The revelations have come as a result of a legal battle between the world's richest monarch and his "playboy prince" younger brother, Prince Jefri. The latest chapter in a decade-long feud concerns an accusation by the sultan that his younger brother failed to pay all of a �3bn out-of-court settlement in 2000.

The Privy Council, which sits in Downing Street, remains Brunei's highest court, even though the country gained independence from Britain in 1984. A 50-page report submitted to it reveals astonishing levels of spending.

Among his payments to friends and employees, the 61-year-old sultan spent �7.3m and �6.59m on two house supervisors, and �5.86m on each one of his five public relations officials, named Janet, Prall, Shelly, Vicky and Yoya. He also spent �1.26m on a badminton coach and �1.25m on masseuses and acupuncturists, as well as �48,859 on the guards for his exotic birdcages. In total, the sultan transferred �3.9bn of state funds into his personal bank account over four years, more than the entire GDP of the tiny oil-rich state.

Forbes magazine has rated the sultan as the wealthiest monarch in the world, with a personal fortune of �10bn. He is understood to own numerous one-off luxury cars, his own personal Boeing 747 complete with gold-plated furnishings, six smaller planes, two helicopters, and a theme park worth $1bn.

His younger brother, Jefri, has for decades been one the world's most notorious playboys. He once owned a 50-metre yacht called Tits, replete with tenders named Nipple 1 and Nipple 2, and reputedly wore pornographic watches that showed a couple copulating on the hour.