Sultan Jamalul Kiram III's wife, Fatima Celia, told The Associated Press that her husband died in her arms at a Philippine hospital. She said that before he died, he ordered his family and ...

Fatima Celia, the wife of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, told The Associated Press that her husband died in her arms early Sunday at a Philippine hospital. She added that before he died he ordered his ...

Relatives and followers carry the coffin of Filipino Sultan Jamalul Kiram III towards the Blue Mosque in Maharlika village, Taguig city, south of Manila, Philippines on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013.

He was 75. In this photo taken March 13, Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III talks to family members inside his house in suburban Taguig, south of Manila.ILLUSTRATION: Associated Press ...

He was 75. Fatima Celia, the wife of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, told The Associated Press that her husband died in her arms early Sunday at a Philippine hospital.

after that. Kiram III, who died later that year, was an indirect descendant of the last uncontested sultan, Jamalul Kiram II, who died in 1936 with no heirs.

The sultan says his people will hold out as long as it takes, but time may not be on his side. At midday his voice was faint and, behind the signature dark glasses, one of his eyes was fully shut.

Jamalul Kiram III is survived by his two wives and eight of their children. His successor is expected to be his younger brother, Esmail Kiram II, who supported the Sabah incursion.

Aquino said the sultan had 180 followers in Sabah, up to 30 of whom were armed. But Kiram said he had 235 members of the "Royal Armed Forces of Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo" there. Malaysian ...

A relative grieves beside the body of Filipino Sultan Jamalul Kiram III at the Blue Mosque in Maharlika village in Taguig city, south of Manila, Philippines on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2013.