He says he can't afford to retire because he previously led an extravagant lifestyle.

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His extravagant lifestyle exasperated his father, whose deteriorating health was depicted in the 1994 film The Madness of King George.

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He was well known among Iraqis as a playboy, whose extravagant lifestyle and violent reputation won him little popular support.

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"In an era when monarchies have been in retreat and many royal families engaged in an extravagant lifestyle, the King went the opposite way, " says M.

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He was also reportedly extravagant in his lifestyle like a famous modern woman editor who was played by Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.

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But the lavish celebrations of the king's 40th birthday, coupled with the 40th anniversary of independence from Britain, made the royal family's lifestyle look even more outrageously extravagant in a country where most people are dirt-poor and AIDS is ravaging the population of just about 1m.

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