AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The Latest on the royal wedding in Jordan of Crown Prince Hussein and Rajwa Alseif:
Lebanese designer Elie Saab made the bridal gown for Thursday’s royal wedding in Jordan, a spokeswoman for the haute couture outfit says.
Jordan’s royal court kept the dress’ designer a closely guarded secret, and wouldn’t comment even after bride Rajwa Alseif arrived at the wedding ceremony in a sleek gown with long sleeves, an asymmetrical neckline and a flowing train.
Marilyne Mossino, a spokeswoman for Elie Saab, confirmed that the Lebanese fashion icon was behind the wedding dress.
Mossino said Britain’s Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, also wore Elie Saab, an elegant ready-to-wear pink gown with a high neck and elaborate embellishments.
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More on the royal wedding in Jordan:
— Jordan’s royal wedding gets underway with surprise arrival from Britain;
— Who are the bride and groom in Jordan’s royal wedding?
— How Jordan’s royal wedding will reverberate across the region and beyond;
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AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s newest royal couple is now officially married.
Crown Prince Hussein, 28, and Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif, signed an Islamic marriage contract in a star-studded ceremony attended by international dignitaries at Jordan’s Zahran palace on Thursday.
Guests started clapping and ululating as he placed a ring on her finger, and crowds at public viewing areas erupted in applause.
Thursday’s ceremony took place in an open-air gazebo surrounded by landscaped gardens for a traditional Muslim wedding ceremony known as “katb al-ketab.”
Around the capital where viewing screens and venues were set up, a jolt when through the crowd as the royal couple sealed their vows and exchanged rings. After several minutes of stillness thousands of Jordanians were on their feet, waving flags and shrieking with excitement.
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AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein and his bride, Princess Rajwa Alseif, are on their way to a gala reception after exchanging vows in a modest, traditional Islamic marriage.
The new royal couple set out in a special “Red Motorcade” across the Jordanian capital of Amman to the Al Husseiniya Palace. The palace compound is home to the offices of King Abdullah II.
The couple was escorted by a military band as it made its way through the streets of the capital. Hussein and Alseif stood in the open-roof and waved to cheering well-wishers on the side of the road.
The Red Motorcade has its roots with the country’s founder, King Abdullah I, who would arrive at important events on a procession of white horses accompanied by riders dressed in blue pants and red blazers.
Today, the motorcade, consisting of eight bright red Land Rover vehicles and 11 motorcycles, is used on special occasions.
Motorcade members don full Jordanian military uniforms and the national red and white checkered headdress, known in Arabic as the shemagh.
The newlyweds are traveling in a 1984 Range Rover that was customized for a visit by the late Queen Elizabeth to Jordan that year. The vehicle, nicknamed “Sheer Rover” was customized by British company Wood & Pickett. It has a cut off roof, white leather upholstery and four individual electric seats.
It was prepared for Thursday’s ceremony with a paint job, redesign of the side windows and roof area, and installation of armor to protect the passengers’ compartment.
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AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s future queen, Rajwa Alseif, has entered the wedding hall to loud cheers as she prepares to marry the kingdom’s crown prince.
Alseif, daughter of a prominent Saudi family, was greeted by a bagpipe-playing band as she arrived at Jordan’s Zahran palace Thursday.
She exited the vehicle, flanked by two bridesmaids who helped her with the long dress. Holding a bouquet of flowers in her right hand, she was escorted through the palace’s lush garden by Crown Prince Hussein’s younger brother, Hashem.
Crown Prince Hussein beamed as his bride entered the hall.
Alseif arrived in a vintage 1968 Rolls Royce Phantom V. The vehicle was custom made for the late Queen Zein, the crown prince’s great grandmother. King Abdullah and Queen Rania recently used the car for the country’s Independence Day celebrations. It was also used during a visit by Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla during a visit in 2021, when he was still prince.
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AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein has received a warm ovation as he arrives at the royal palace for his wedding.
Hussein smiled and waved to the crowd as he entered the room wearing a full ceremonial military uniform.
He then sat down next to his father, King Abdullah II, ahead of the arrival of his bride.
A crowd in downtown Amman went wild as a large screen flickered to life showing the start of the wedding service.
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AMMAN, Jordan — U.S. first lady Jill Biden has arrived for Jordan’s royal wedding.
Biden joined a long list of international dignitaries arriving for Thursday’s ceremony at Jordan’s Zahran palace. She was accompanied by Ashley, her daughter with President Joe Biden.
She is leading an American delegation that also includes White House climate envoy and former Secretary of State John Kerry.
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AMMAN, Jordan — Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate have arrived at the wedding ceremony of Jordan’s crown prince and his Saudi bride.
The British royal couple headline a high-powered guest list for the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein and Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif. Members of the royal families of Belgium, Spain, Denmark, the Netherlands and Japan are also attending.
William, dressed in a dark suit and blue tie, and Kate, in a long pink dress, briefly greeted Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Queen Rania as they arrived at the palace.
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AMMAN, Jordan — Excitement has gripped Jordan over the royal wedding and preparations for the nightlong celebrations are underway. In downtown Amman, traffic was sparse and streets were quiet in in anticipation of the late afternoon nuptials on Thursday.
Vendors capitalized on the wedding fever, hawking Jordanian flags, posters of the betrothed and the red-and-white checkered shemagh fabric traditionally worn by the Hashemites to those excited enough to get an early start.
“She looks like such a princess that I think she deserves him,” Suhair Afaneh, a 37-year-old businesswoman, said of the bride, lingering in front of a portrait of Hussein in a dark suit.
“But so what, I’ll still be in love with him.”She contemplated buying Hussein’s portrait to hang in her bedroom but her nieces persuaded her that her husband might not approve.
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AMMAN, Jordan — Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate, who emerged as surprise guests at Thursday’s wedding of Jordan’s crown prince and his Saudi bride, have long had a special relationship with the kingdom and its royal family
Both William, 40, and Crown Prince Hussein, 28, are graduates of Britain’s Royal Military Academy of Sandhurst.
The two spent time together when the crown prince hosted William during his 2018 trip to Jordan. During the visit, the pair capped a day of engagements by watching England’s World Cup match against Panama which the heir to the Jordanian throne had recorded earlier.
At the time, Kensington Palace posted two photos on Twitter showing the two sitting on a sofa at the Beit Al Urdun Palace, watching the match on a huge screen. Both were dressed casually, Hussein in a white T-shirt, and William in a light blue shirt.
Kate had lived for three years in Jordan as a child, when her father worked for British Airways. William and Kate took their children on a family holiday to Jordan in 2021.
The British monarchy and Jordan’s ruling Hashemites have a long shared history. Britain had helped install the Hashemites in then-Transjordan a century ago, and remained involved in Jordanian affairs in subsequent decades. Hussein’s grandfather, the late King Hussein, and his father, King Abdullah II, also attended Sandhurst.
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