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It’s set to be the royal wedding of the summer – and now new details have emerged of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and his bride’s big day tomorrow.
In September, it was announced that Sandhurst graduate Hussein, 28, was set to wed Saudi Arabian-born architect Rajwa Al-Saif, also 28, after an engagement ceremony at the bride-to-be’s family home in Riyadh.
The pair are officially marrying tomorrow at the Zahran Palace in Amman, Jordan, with officials sharing a number of details about the event ahead of the big day.
The celebrations will actually begin tonight, when King Abdullah II will host a dinner for over 4,000 Jordanians, who will be served Jordan’s festive national dish Mansaf – lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yoghurt.
On the wedding day itself, 140 guests, including members of the Royal Hashemite family, invited royals and heads of state, will watch the couple tie the knot in the palace garden.
It’s set to be the royal wedding of the summer – and now new details have emerged about Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan and his bride Rajwa Al-Saif’s big day tomorrow
There will also be an event tonight to celebrate Jordan’s ‘diverse social fabric’ and demonstrate the royal family’s ‘profound respect for each segment of Jordanian society.’
The celebration will take place in the Royal Hashemite Court’s ‘Madareb Bani Hashem’.
The 4,000 guests include members of the Royal Hashemite Family and representatives of the nation’s tribes and Circassian and Chechen communities.
Meanwhile, members of civil society organizations, business leaders, youth figures, former and current government officials and army and security agency personnel have also been invited.
Tomorrow has been declared a national holiday, with celebratory events hosted in all 12 of Jordan’s governorates to allow citizens to share in the festivities.
The couple will be married at the Zahran Palace in an ‘elegant and understated religious ceremony’.
The couple will then move to the Al Husseiniya Palace in a motorcade procession for the wedding reception, which will feature a diverse line-up of performers paying tribute to the Crown Prince’s military career, his bride’s Saudi Arabian heritage, and traditional Jordanian artistry.
The wedding reception will be hosted by King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, as well as the bride’s parents, with more than 1,700 guests.
Saudi Arabian-born architect Rajwa Al-Saif, who is to wed Crown Prince Hussein tomorrow
The remainder of the evening features a variety of performances by local and regional singers, a choir group, Jordanian bands, the national orchestra, and folk dance troupes.
The reception concludes with the bride and groom cutting the wedding cake.
Earlier this month, Queen Rania hosted a pre-wedding henna party for Rajwa.
The queen shared a number of photographs on Instagram showing her celebrating with the bride-to-be at the traditional party.
She wrote: ‘No celebration would be complete without our Jordanian family. Celebrating our beautiful Rajwa!’
The guests included Rania’s daughters Princess Iman bint Abdullah II and Princess Salma bint Abdullah II, as well as members of the Al-Saif family and women from across the kingdom.
The party featured performances of traditional Jordanian and Saudi songs by local artists Nedaa Shrara, Diana Karazon, and Zain Awad, as well as performances by Haleem Musical Group, Al Salt Girls Band, and Misk Dance Company.
It also included a zaffeh – or grand entrance – for the bride-to-be, and henna drawing for guests.
Welcoming her guests, Rania said, ‘I’m so happy that you could all be here to celebrate with us.
‘Today is a special day for us, and to our entire Jordanian family. Our joy is one and the same… near or far, you are all in our hearts today.’
She explained that like any mother, she has always dreamed of Crown Prince Hussein’s wedding.
‘Al Hussein is your son as much as he is mine – you are his family and this is your celebration,’ she added.
Earlier this month, Queen Rania hosted a pre-wedding henna party for Crown Prince Hussein’s future wife Rajwa
Sharing a few words about her future daughter-in-law, the Queen described Rajwa as ‘the sweetest and most beautiful bride-to-be’, adding that she is as precious to her as her daughters Princesses Iman and Salma.
‘I’ll never forget how happy His Majesty and I were when Al Hussein told us he wanted to marry Rajwa. She is the perfect answer to all my prayers for him,’ The Queen reflected, before wishing the couple a blessed and happy future.
‘May you always be each other’s source of happiness and support,’ she said.
The queen also noted that a daughter is usually a reflection of her mother, referring to the Crown Prince’s future mother-in-law by her first name, Azza, whom she described as a ‘gem’.
Addressing Azza bint Naif Al-Sudairi, Rania explained that two months ago, right before Princess Iman’s wedding, she realised how Rajwa’s mother must be feeling now.
But she reassured her that ‘we and Al Hussein will take the very best care of Rajwa. This is her country, and she is among her family and her people.’
The queen added: ‘As mothers, the one thing we truly want is to make sure that our children are happy.
‘We often ask ourselves whether we did the best we can to raise our children. During His Majesty the late King Hussein’s final days and before his passing, I made him a promise to raise Al Hussein the way he wanted him to be raised.’
King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan will host thousands of guests during the events throughout the week
Describing the Crown Prince as a brave, confident, and strong soldier, she likened him to his father, King Abdullah, admiring how he treats his bride, and his desire to see Jordanians not only coming together to join their wedding celebrations, but also be involved in its preparations.
‘That’s when I realized that he is a true, self-aware Hashemite, who is both a part of you, and here to serve you,’ she said.
Referring once again to the anecdote she shared about the late King Hussein, the queen said: ‘I can now tell His Majesty the late King Hussein that I was true to my word.’
She concluded by thanking and welcoming her guests, she added: ‘Congratulations to us all, this is your celebration, just as it is ours.’
Rajwa received a degree from Syracuse University in New York, and studied at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles after completing her secondary education in Saudi Arabia.
She has worked at an architecture firm in Los Angeles and currently works at the Designlab Experience studio in Riyadh.
Queen Rania and her daughter Princess Iman, who was also married recently
News about the big day emerged as Queen Rania hosted a pre-wedding henna party for Crown Prince Hussein’s future wife Rajwa this week
Queen Rania paid an emotional tribute to her son Hussein in a touching speech in the first celebration ahead of his wedding to Rajwa this week
Queen Rania’s touching speech appeared to leave the bride-to-be in tears, and she dabbed her eyes throughout
She is the youngest daughter of Khaled M. Al-Saif and Azza bint Naif Al-Sudairi.
Mr Al-Saif is CEO of the Al Saif Group, a privately company with a diverse portfolio of businesses across healthcare, construction and security services, and is a board member of the Saudi-British Joint Business Council, which promotes trade between the two countries.
Crown Prince Hussein, the eldest of King Abdullah and Queen Rania’s four children, is a graduate of prestigious Georgetown University in Washington DC, and served in the Army after graduating from Sandhurst in 2017.
In 2015 he made history as the youngest person to chair a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
He made headlines last year when he hosted Prince William on a visit to the Middle East.
His proud mother Rania shared her joy on Instagram after the announcement of their engagement in September.
She posted a slideshow of images, writing: ‘I didn’t think it was possible to hold so much joy in my heart! Congratulations to my eldest Prince Hussein and his beautiful bride-to-be, Rajwa.
In Arabic, Rania continued: ‘I prayed to Allah – like me, like every mother – to… find the one you love, Rajwa came.
‘Congratulations to my son, Prince Al-Hussein, and our precious and sweet bride Rajwa – May Allah bless you and make you happy.’
