History
The royal town of Kuala Kangsar was said to have had a strange effect on Sultan Yusuf Sharifuddin Mudzaffar Shah of Perak who ruled from 1877 to 1887. Unlike many rulers who protected their royal places and strongholds by selecting their vantage points carefully where they could detect enemy approach from afar, the Sultan had his first royal palace built beside the riverbank. He then named it 'Istana Sri Sayong'.
Apart from being exposed to the impending threat of invasion, the other problem was the force of monsoon seasons, which led to numerous flooding as water gushed down from the jungles above through the many tributaries. One flooding was so severe, it almost swept the palace away. Finally, after the Big Flood or Air Bah in 1926, it was decided to move the place further up onto the knoll where stands the current Royal Palace.
Istana Iskandariah is located at Bukit Chandan on the left bank of Sungai Perak upstream from Hilir Perak on the site of the former Istana Negeri (State Palace), which was built in 1895 by the late Sultan Idris Murshidul Azam Shah Ibni Almarhum Raja Bendahara Alang Iskandar (1887 - 1916). It occupies an area of 10,435 square meters.
On the death of Sultan Iskandar in 1938, Sultan Abdul Aziz Al-Mutasim Billah Shah Ibni Almarhum Raja Muda Musa (1938 - 1948) succeeded him and moved into the palace. In 1948, Sultan Yusuf Izzuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Jalil Radziallah Shah (1948 - 1963) moved from Istana Kota (Istana Hijau) to Istana Iskandariah to succeed Sultan Abdul Aziz and in 1963, Sultan Idris Al-Mutawakkil Alallahi Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Shah Kadassallah (1963 - 1984) ascended the throne and stayed there until his demise in 1984.
Currently, the palace is the royal abode of Sultan Azlan Muhibbuddin Shah Ibni Almarhum Sultan Yusuf Izzuddin Shah Ghafarullah (1984 - present).
Read more about this topic: Istana Iskandariah
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