King Juan Carlos and King Sofia will attend this week, in Amman, the ceremony organized for the wedding of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan with the Saudi architect Rajwa Khalid. It will be the third time, after the funerals of Isabel II and Constantine of Greece, in which they appear together since the King’s father went into self-exile in the summer of 2020. Queen SofÃa will travel to Jordan from Madrid and King Juan Carlos will will do from Abu Dhabi..
The traditional friendship between the Jordanian and Spanish royal families, cemented in the reigns of Hussein I and Juan Carlos I, means that the Jordanian court has sent invitations to the entire royal family and also to the princesses Elena and Cristina. It does not seem, however, that the capital of the day is going to be the scene of a family reunion since the kings Felipe and Letizia are not expected to attend the wedding. The then princes of Asturias, accompanied by Queen SofÃa, did attend, on May 28, 2004, shortly after their own wedding, that of the then crown prince, Hamzah, son of Hussein and Nur and stepbrother, therefore, of current Jordanian monarch, which was held in Petra
Prince Hamzah, who had been appointed by the late King Hussein, ceased to be heir shortly after his wedding, when King Abdullah removed him in favor of his eldest son, Hussein. A few months ago Hamzah starred in a palace coup that resulted in his house arrest, although shortly after, and after a public request for forgiveness from his brother, he was rehabilitated.
The Jordanian monarchy, still preserving Arab traditions, has been moving away from other monarchies in the area to resemble the European ones. Queen Rania’s personality and popularity in the world has influenced that image. The wedding of her eldest son and her heir is the right occasion to combine traditions and modernity. For that they have the complicity of other royal houses that always have Abdallah and, above all, Rania among the guests at all their celebrations.
Princess Victoria of Sweden and her husband, Daniel Westling, have confirmed their presence at the wedding of Hussein and Rajwa; Hakoon and Mette Marit from Norway; Frederick and Mary from Denmark; King Guillermo and Máxima of the Netherlands, accompanied by Crown Princess Amalia, as well as representatives of Japan, Luxembourg and the Gulf monarchies.
The ceremony will be held on Thursday at the Zahran Palace followed by a banquet at the Al Husseiniya Palace. For Jordanians, the festivities begin today with a free concert at Amman Stadium featuring Jordanian singing stars such as Hosni and Alama, Ahmed Saad and Diana Karazon. On the 31st there will be a reception for foreign guests.
