Malaysia royals prepare to choose new king following shock abdication of Sultan Muhammad

Malaysia's royals have met for a special gathering at the national palace to appoint a new king to replace Sultan Muhammad V, who abdicated after new emerged that he married a Russian former beauty queen.

Sultan Muhammad had taken medical leave, when he reportedly wed the former Miss Moscow. He abdicated shortly after details of the marriage emerged, a first for the country.

Malaysia's royal families will now elect a new king to replace Muhammad V, 49, who gave up the throne just two years into his term.

Malaysia's throne changes hands every five years between rulers of the country's nine states.

The royal households take it in turn to provide the country's king, and it is usually known before the formal election who will become the monarch.

The role of king is ceremonial, but Malaysia's royalty command great respect, especially from Muslim Malays, but the rule of Sultan Muhammad has courted controversy.

His marriage to former Miss Russia, Oksana Voevodina, during his spell of illness ruffled feathers in the conservative country, after photos of her modelling career resurfaced. Voevodina reportedly converted to Islam. 

The appointment of the new king will happen in the coming weeks, with the new king expected to serve a full, five-year term.

Sultan Nazrin Shah of northern Perak state is the acting king, local media reported, and served as deputy king for Muhammad V, performing his duties after he went on medical leave at the start of November.

Muhammad's was the first abdication of a king in Malaysia since the end of British rule in 1957.