On Thursday, June 1, 2023, Jordan's 28-year-old Crown Prince Hussein married Rajwa al-Saif, a 29-year-old Saudi architect, at a glittering wedding ceremony attended by global royalty, including Britain's prince and princess of Wales.
The marriage is seen as boosting Jordan's ties with with its more powerful and oil-rich neighbour, Saudi Arabia -- the bride's mother is Saudi King Salman's first cousin.
IMAGE: Hussein and Rajwa leave the Zahran palace in Amman. Photograph: Alaa Al Sukhni/Reuters
IMAGE: Hussein studied international history at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and graduated from Britain's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst; he is a captain in the Jordanian army. Rajwa graduated in architecture from Syracuse University, also in the US. Photograph: Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: Hussein and Rajwa cut the wedding cake. Photograph: Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: A view of the couple. Photograph: Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: Jordan's Prince Hassan bin Talal with his wife Princess Sarvath beside him signs as a witness.
Prince Hassan is King Abdullah's uncle, his late father King Hussein's younger brother.
Interestingly, Prince Hassan has an Indian connection.
Princess Sarvath's paternal uncle was Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah, who served as Chief Justice of India from 1968 to 1980, Vice President of India from 1979 to 1984, and also acting President twice. Photograph: Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: Jordan's King Abdullah II, Queen Rania, Hussein and Rajwa greet Princess Elisabeth, the duchess of Brabant, and King Philippe of Belgium. Photograph: Royal Hashemite Court /Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: King Abdullah -- whose mother the former Toni Gardiner is British and fell in love with his father King Hussein after they met on the sets of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, when she was part of the production team -- and Queen Rania -- who Abdullah met when she was a marketing executive at Apple -- welcome guests. Photograph: Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: Britain's Prince William and Princess Catherine at the wedding. Photograph: Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: Jordan's Princess Firyal, centre, who was married to King Abdullah's uncle Prince Muhammad bin Talal, with her children, Prince Talal bin Muhammad and Princess Ghida, at the wedding. Photograph: Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: Hussein and Rajwa travel in a motorcade through the streets of Amman. Photograph: Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: Members of a band play music at the celebrations. The crown prince turns 29 on June 28. Photograph: Ahmad Abdo/Reuters/Reuters
IMAGE: A giant screen displays the bride's arrival. Photograph: Ahmad Abdo/Reuters/Reuters
IMAGE: Fireworks explode during the celebrations. Photograph: Alaa Al Sukhni/Reuters
IMAGE: People shower the royal couple with flower petals. Photograph: Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Reuters
IMAGE: Jubilant Jordanians during the celebrations. Photograph: Ahmad Abdo/Reuters/Reuters
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com