Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan Marries Rajwa Alseif in Dazzling Royal Wedding

Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan is married!

The heir to the Jordanian throne, 28, married fiancée Rajwa Alseif in an epic royal wedding in Amman on Thursday. The couple tied the knot in an Islamic marriage ceremony at Zahran Palace, where the prince’s parents Queen Rania and King Abdullah II of Jordan wed in 1993. 

The celebration commenced with the arrival of the King and Queen as the Jordanian Armed Forces Musical Band performed. Crown Prince Hussein then entered, meeting his parents in the ceremony gazebo in the palace garden. The groom's uniform suit was inspired by the one his father wore on his own wedding day, its sleeves paying tribute to the timeless style of King Abdullah II and King Abdullah I.

Around the same time, Rajwa arrived at the palace with Hussein’s younger siblings Princess Iman, Princess Salma and Prince Hashem in a custom 1968 Rolls-Royce Phantom. The princesses helped Rajwa, 29, with her train, and Hashem, 18, had the honor of escorting the bride to the gazebo in the green garden, where the wedding ceremony, known as a “katb ktab,” commenced. Rajwa wore a custom white silk crepe long-sleeve gown with an asymmetric neckline and draped bodice by Elie Saab Haute Couture, topping the look with a diamond tiara and sweeping veil.

The ceremony was presided by Dr. Ahmed Al Khalaileh, imam of the Royal Hashemite Court, where Crown Prince Hussein and Rajwa signed a marriage contract with two witnesses. When the joyful service wrapped, a few women performed Zaghrata, a ululation traditionally used to express happiness at Jordanian and Arab celebrations. The newly married couple kissed each other on the cheek, and greeted guests before traveling in a Red Motorcade to their reception at Al Husseiniya Palace.

Shortly after the service, the Royal Hashemite Court announced that Rajwa is officially a princess!

“A Royal Decree was issued to bestow the title of Her Royal Highness Princess Rajwa Al Hussein on Miss Rajwa Khalid Alseif, on the occasion of her marriage to His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein #Jordan,” the statement said.

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The ceremonial Red Motorcade is used for occasions of national importance in Jordan, such as the opening of Parliament and state visits. The transport features eight red, armed Land Rovers and 11 motorcycles. On special occasions, horse and camel riders join the cavalcade and bagpipes are played by the Jordan Armed Forces Musical Band. Hussein and Rajwa will travel in a 1984 Range Rover customized for Queen Elizabeth’s visit that year. The custom car, known as the “Sheer Rover,” has been further modified and modernized for the royal wedding.

The bride and groom’s grand entrance at Al Husseiniya Palace will be announced by a Zaffeh musical procession of drums, bagpipes singing and clapping. Rajwa and Hussein will make their way to an outdoor reception courtyard with a military Zaffeh by the army band, passing through an Arch of Sabers. The newlyweds will then ascend a stage to greet their 1,700 guests with King Abdullah, Queen Rania and Rajwa’s parents, Khalid Alseif and Azza Al Sudairi.

The reception design and decor is a display of Jordanian tradition, craftsmanship and landscape, from a handmade artisanal rug and seats to traditional Arabic coffee and music and presentation of dates, a sign of hospitality in Jordanian and Saudi cultures. Five large mesh arches inspired by the Palace architecture and Jordan’s Wadi Rum were also constructed to create a woven backdrop behind the stage. The palace archways were also decorated with seasonal flowers like jasmine, while tributes to Jordan’s wheat harvesting seasoning were incorporated elsewhere.

The evening reception will be highlighted by performances from the national orchestra, local and regional singers, a choir, Jordanian bands and dance troops, including the Dabkeh and a performance from a Circassian group. In a fairytale finish, Rajwa and Hussein will cut their wedding cake as fireworks ignite the sky.

The wedding brought together the couple’s families and royalty from around the world — including Prince William and Kate Middleton! — and came nine months after Crown Prince Hussein announced his engagement in August 2022. Like many modern couples, Hussein and Rajwa shared the happy news on social media.

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"We pray that God grants us His blessings. Grateful to my dear Jordanian family for their heartfelt support and kind wishes," the prince wrote of the Instagram photo where they posed close, Rajwa’s dazzling diamond ring on display. 

On New Year's Eve, the Royal Hashemite Court announced that the wedding would be held on June 1. Courtiers otherwise kept details about the big day tightly under wraps, raising anticipation a few weeks before by releasing an official logo meaning “we rejoice” in Arabic.

Crown Prince Hussein and Rajwa embraced the exciting time with separate festivities. Hussein, who is a captain in the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, held a Jordanian summer night on May 17 with one of the Royal Armored Battalion’s units. According to his website, the groom-to-be and his younger brother Prince Hasheem enjoyed poetry, dancing, tug of war and the dismantling of weapons.

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A few days later, Queen Rania threw a dinner party for Rajwa. The Queen of Jordan, 52, praised her future daughter-in-law in a welcome at the celebration as “the sweetest and most beautiful bride-to-be” and as dear to her as her own daughters.

“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,” Rania said in a sweet speech, wishing the young couple a bright future. “May you always be each other’s source of happiness and support.”

The night before the wedding, Hussein had a "pre-wedding bash" with his brother, cousins and battalion members of the Jordan Armed Forces.

Rajwa was born in Saudi Arabia, the youngest of Azza and Khalid's four children. She went to college in the United States, earning a degree in architecture from Syracuse University in New York and a professional designation degree in visual communications from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. 

Her new husband is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and the future King of Jordan. It remains unclear when the couple connected, and how long they had been together before getting engaged.

In preparation for royal duty, Rajwa joined Hussein at a few engagements before the royal wedding. In October 2022, they toured exhibits at the Royal Hashemite Court to learn more about Jordan's Hashemite history. In January, the couple visited the Fragrance of Colors initiative in Amman, which teaches the blind and visually impaired art through smell, Arab News reported. 

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Rajwa and Crown Prince Hussein sat side by side at his sister Princess Iman’s royal wedding to Jameel Alexander Thermiotis in March, and the crown prince wished his bride-to-be a happy birthday in a sweet social media tribute the following month. 

"Wishing my dearest Rajwa a very happy birthday! Looking forward to a life of love, compassion and commitment with you," Hussein captioned the Instagram snap on April 28, posting a joyful photo of Rajwa with a tacked-up horse.