The division of the community into two classes— a ruling class and a subject class— was one of the basic elements of Malay political and social structure. The ruling class was an institution closely related to the Sultanate. It included many persons of royal descent who were too remotely related to any Sultan to be able to aspire to the throne or the lesser royal offices. If a woman of royal descent married a man of non-royal descent, her children did not inherit the title of royal status. The preference of minor members of the royal lineage for marrying a principal wife of their own descent status is easily explained. The Raja element in the ruling class held itself aloof in the matter of intermarriage and reckoned it a cut above the non-royal aristocrats. The emphasis and social interest of the status lineage does not lie in segmentation into small opposed groups.