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Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein married Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif on Thursday.
The wedding was held at the luxurious Zahran Palace in the capital, Amman. Performers sang “Jordanian, Saudi” in reference to the binational couple as they walked through the crowd surrounded by guests.
بصوت #عمر_العبداللات و #محمد_عبده.. زفة ولي العهد والأميرة #رجوة_الحسين في قصر الحسينية#نفرح_بالحسين #المملكة_تفرح_بالحسين #الأمير_الحسين #ولي_العهد #زفاف_ولي_العهد #زفاف_الحسين #الزفاف_الملكي #هنا_المملكة pic.twitter.com/lvmOUolver
— قناة المملكة (@AlMamlakaTV) June 1, 2023
Earlier, a huge motorcade brought the couple to the palace.
سمو الأمير حسين و سمو الأميرة رجوى - معا، نجم الأردن 🌟 🇯🇴#زفاف_ولي_العهد #زفاف_أمير_الحسين pic.twitter.com/vnJ4Pyh28Q
— Salim A. Essaid (@salim_a_essaid) June 1, 2023
Prince Hussein, 28 years old, is the son of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania. He is next in line to the throne. Princess Rajwa, 29 years old, studied architecture at Syracuse University in the United States and comes from a prominent Saudi family. Her father, Khalid Alseif, is the founder of the eponymous construction company, according to reports.
Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa got engaged in August of last year. She received the title of Her Royal Highness, Princess Rajwa Al Hussein, during the wedding ceremony.
The Jordanian-Saudi familial bonding deepens the ties between the two countries. The Hashemites were actually expelled from the Arabian peninsula in 1924, but the two countries share a 731 kilometers (454 miles) border, tribal links and growing ties in trade and tourism.
Prince Hussein's wedding is not the first royal wedding to a non-Jordanian. King Abdullah’s mother, Princess Muna, is English. His wife, Queen Rania, was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents.
Why it matters: The wedding was a major affair in Jordan and a sign of increasingly close ties between Jordan and Saudi Arabia. There were massive celebrations and concerts throughout Jordan well into the night. Jordan’s public broadcaster Al-Mamlaka aired nonstop coverage of the wedding on Thursday. Thursday was also declared a public holiday.
Various regional leaders were expected to attend, including Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Iraqi President Abdel Latif Rashid and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, according to Saudi news outlet Al-Arabiya.
US First Lady Jill Biden also attended, as did the United Kingdom’s Prince William and Princess Catherine. Images on Twitter also purportedly showed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) arriving in Jordan for the event.
Know more: Prince Hussein’s wedding was the second royal wedding in Jordan this year. In March, his sister, Princess Iran, married Greek-Venezuelan millionaire Jameel Thermiotis.
