Jordan crown prince weds Saudi architect

Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah married Saudi architect Rajwa al-Saif on Thursday in a wedding attended by royals from across the globe.The ceremony took place in the mid-century Zahran Palace in the capital Amman – the scene of other key Hashemite kingdom weddings including that of King Abdullah II to Queen Rania and also that of his father, the late King Hussein bin Talal.The king’s eldest son and al-Saif, both 28, tied the knot at a ceremony attended by their families and 140 guests, including US First Lady Jill Biden and UK’s Prince and Princess of Wales.King Abdullah II, aged 61 and on the throne since 1999, has long groomed his eldest son to succeed him, bringing him on important visits and to meetings, former information minister Samih Maaytah previously told AFP.Hussein became heir to the throne in 2009.In recent years, he has increasingly taken on the duties of a future king, rubbing shoulders with world leaders including US President Joe Biden.At the Arab League summit in Jeddah last month, he walked alongside his father to greet Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman.The three were photographed together.At home, Hussein is regularly seen chairing meetings of government agencies.The newly titled Princess Rajwa was born in Riyadh.She is descended from the Al Sudayri family of Najd in what became modern day Saudi Arabia, known to be closely linked to the Saudi royal family.Other notable guests included the Netherlands’ King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, as well as Belgium’s King Philippe and Crown Princess Elisabeth and Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary.The highly anticipated nuptials were met by celebrations across Jordan, with thousands gathering to witness the procession in Amman in streets decorated for the occasion with pictures of the couple and banners.A royal red motorcade, reserved for special occasions, crossed the capital from Zahran Palace in the centre to Husseiniya Palace in the west."We are certainly very happy with the crown prince’s wedding. This is the joy of all of Jordan,” said Sawsan Rifaia, 26, clad in a white shirt with a picture of the newlyweds and a red Jordanian keffiyeh wrapped over her white headscarf.Jordan enjoys relative stability compared to its Middle East neighbours, but has seen protests in recent years as it struggles with economic woes.The World Bank says Jordan is heavily in debt and faces around 23% unemployment.The country relies extensively on foreign aid.The Jordanian king has wide-ranging political powers in a nation of 11mn people, a parliamentary monarchy, and he is also supreme leader of the armed forces.Hussein followed in his father’s footsteps by attending Britain’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and then studied history at Washington’s Georgetown University.His bride was born and raised in Saudi Arabia but is also Western-educated, having studied architecture at Syracuse University in New York.