Jordan’s Crown <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/2023/06/01/crown-prince-hussein-marries-princess-rajwa-in-glittering-day-for-jordan/" target="_blank">Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa</a> are expecting their first child. The news of <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/gulf-news/saudi-arabia/2023/05/31/how-is-jordans-future-princess-rajwa-al-saif-related-to-saudi-royalty/" target="_blank">Princess Rajwa’s</a> pregnancy was announced by the Jordanian royal family in a statement. “The Royal Hashemite Court is pleased to announce that their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II and Princess Rajwa Al Hussein are expecting their first baby this summer,” it reads. The pair married in a glittering ceremony at <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/2023/05/11/why-are-rajwa-al-saif-and-jordans-crown-prince-hussein-getting-married-at-zahran-palace/" target="_blank">Zahran Palace in Amman</a> last June. The event was attended by Arab and western royalty. The <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/jordan/2023/06/01/from-prince-william-to-jill-biden-who-attended-prince-husseins-wedding-in-jordan/" target="_blank">140-person guest list</a> included Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Jill Biden, the US first lady; Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales; and Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, the mother of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim. Also from the Gulf was Oman's Crown Prince Theyazin bin Haitham; Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the son of Bahrain’s Crown Prince; and Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Meshal, who was Crown Prince at the time. From Iraq, President Abdul Latif Rashid and Nechirvan Barzani, President of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region attended. European royals included King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands; Swedish Crown Princess Victoria and her husband, Prince Daniel; and Norway's Crown Prince Haakon. Japanese Princess Hisako and her eldest daughter, Princess Tsuguko, were also at the event. As the eldest son of <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/luxury/2022/08/18/how-queen-rania-of-jordans-1993-wedding-outfit-broke-with-tradition/" target="_blank">King Abdullah and Queen Rania</a>, Prince Hussein is next in line to rule Jordan. King Abdullah appointed Hussein as Crown Prince in 2009, after a rift with the king’s half-brother, Prince Hamzah. Official media portrayed the wedding as a symbol of continuity in the Hashemite monarchy, which has ruled Jordan since its inception as a British protectorate in 1921. In another symbol of family unity at the wedding, Princess Rajwa – wearing an <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/2023/06/01/princess-rajwa-wears-striking-elie-saab-dress-for-her-wedding-to-crown-prince-hussein/" target="_blank">elegant long-sleeved Elie Saab dress</a> – was escorted down the aisle by the youngest of the Jordanian royal children, Prince Hashem. Princess Rajwa was born in Riyadh, on April 28, 1994, according to <i>Roya News </i>in Jordan. She is the youngest of four siblings – alongside Faisal, Nayef and Dana – born to businessman Khalid Al Saif and his wife Azza Al Sudairi. Her secondary education took place in Saudi Arabia, before she moved to New York to complete her higher education at the College of Architecture at Syracuse University. During her time there, Princess Rajwa took a nine-day field trip to Dubai in 2016, as part of the course. “What made this trip so memorable for me was seeing the students in the studio experience Arabic culture and architecture for the first time,” she said, as reported on Syracuse University's website. “Dubai is very intriguing, having contemporary architecture while also attempting to maintain the traditional beauty of the Arabic culture and history.”
