![]() “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. Shops had competing displays of royal regalia. “Of course it’s a beautiful thing for our families, and for the relationship between Jordan and Saudi Arabia.”Įxcitement over the nuptials - Jordan’s biggest royal event in decades - has been building in the capital of Amman, where congratulatory banners of Hussein and his beaming bride adorn buses and hang over winding hillside streets. “We are all so excited, so happy about this union,” she said. Noura Al Sudairi, an aunt of the bride, was wearing sweatpants and sneakers on her way to breakfast. On Thursday morning, Saudi wedding guests and tourists - the men wearing white dishdasha robes and the women in brightly colored abayas - filtered through the marbled lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman. Tens of thousands of well-wishers attended free concerts and cultural events. The kingdom declared Thursday a public holiday so crowds of people could gather to wave at the couple’s motorcade amid a heavy security presence across the city. The newlyweds later emerged from the palace in a white custom Range Rover escorted by several bright red Land Rovers, motorcycles and a military marching band - a nod to the traditional horse-mounted processions during the reign of the country’s founder, King Abdullah I. “I wish for all mothers and fathers in Jordan and in the world to feel like they’re surely feeling,” she said of the king and queen. Samara Aqrabawi, a 55-year-old mother watching the livestream with her young daughter, said the ceremony was more impressive than she imagined. After several minutes of stillness, the crowd of some 18,000 people were on their feet, waving flags and shrieking with excitement at one of several viewing parties held across the nation. Several miles away, a jolt went through a packed ancient Roman amphitheater as viewers watched the couple seal their vows and exchange rings on a wide screen. Prince Harry to tabloid newspaper's lawyer: 'Nobody wants to be phone hacked' The crown prince arrived earlier in full ceremonial military uniform with a gold-hilted saber. The bride, wearing an elegant white dress by Lebanese designer Elie Saab, arrived at Zahran Palace in a 1968 Rolls-Royce Phantom V custom-made for the crown prince’s late great grandmother. It even could help resource-poor Jordan forge a strategic bond with its oil-rich neighbor, Saudi Arabia. The celebrations hold deep significance for the region, emphasizing continuity in an Arab state prized for its longstanding stability and refreshing the monarchy’s image after a palace feud. The marriage of Crown Prince Hussein, 28, and Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif, 29, drew a star-studded guest list including Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate, as well as U.S. AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Jordan’s crown prince married the scion of a prominent Saudi family on Thursday in a palace ceremony attended by royals and other VIPs from around the world, as massive crowds gathered across the kingdom to celebrate the region’s newest power couple.
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