We are now wrapping up this live story as the wedding concludes with the prince and princess ending their procession through the streets of Amman.

Here's a recap from AFP:

Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah married Saudi architect Rajwa Al Seif on Thursday in a ceremony attended by royals from across the globe.

The ceremony was held in the mid-century Zahran Palace in the capital Amman -- the site of other key royal weddings including that of King Abdullah II to Queen Rania as well as that of his father, the late King Hussein bin Talal.

The king's eldest son and Al Seif, both aged 28, tied the knot at a ceremony attended by their families and 140 guests, including US First Lady Jill Biden and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Other notables included the Netherlands' King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, as well as Belgium's King Philippe and Crown Princess Elisabeth and Danish Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary.

The highly anticipated nuptials were met by celebrations across Jordan, with thousands gathering to witness the procession in Amman in streets decorated with pictures of the couple and banners.

A royal red motorcade, reserved for special occasions, crossed the capital to celebrate the bride and groom.

After the ceremony, the crown prince and princess exchanged rings and then walked to the palace grounds for photos.

The prince and princess then transferred to a Range Rover as Ammanis wait outside for their royal convoy.

The procession has now begun

Watch live above

Screengrab from AP

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Khalaileh has concluded the Islamic marriage ceremony, with the crown prince and princess signing the marriage contract as per Islamic law. The king and his uncle signed as witnesses

Screen grab from AP

Rajwa Seif, the bride, has just entered the hallway after touring the premises of the palace. She's wearing a long bridal white dress

The much-anticipated ceremony is now underway, and viewers can catch the live video feed from the Associated Press above. Guests are arriving at the Zahran palace. Among them is Jill Biden, the First Lady of the United States, who is warmly greeted by King Abdullah II and Queen Rania.

In a noteworthy entrance, the groom himself has just made his arrival. 

In other news, an Israeli press report has surfaced, suggesting that no Israeli officials have been invited to the ceremony. While this claim remains unverified by The New Arab, it appears that no Israeli figures have been spotted at the event thus far. It is worth noting that Jordan-Israeli relations have strained in recent years due to Israel's rightward shift and its encroachment on Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, which fall under the custodianship of the Hashemite kingdom. The peace treaty between Amman and Tel Aviv remains rather cold.

As you watch the ceremony unfold, you might have noticed the distinctive attire of the royal guard.  Comprised of members from Circassian tribes, this group plays an important ceremonial role within the king's bodyguard.

Stay tuned for more live updates as the wedding celebration continues.

On Jordanian state-linked TV Al-Mamlaka, there's much fanfare and excitement. Anchors are interviewing friends of the groom to talk about him, and they just ran a segment on the ceremonial sword the prince received on Wednesday ahead of his wedding. 

A lot of narrative and mythology building is taking place live, but can this be pulled off in the 21st century?

At least they're trying.

Still, all this begs the question: Who are the (princess) bride and groom?

The bride: Rajwa Al Seif, the fiancée of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan, is poised to become the future queen of Jordan. Born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in 1994, Rajwa has a background in architecture and pursued her studies at Syracuse University in the United States. She has gained professional experience at architecture firms in Los Angeles and Riyadh. The announcement of Rajwa's engagement to Hussein took place in August 2022, after which she started making more frequent appearances with the Jordanian royal family. Rajwa is an accomplished equestrian and is fluent in English, French, and Arabic. Upon her marriage to Crown Prince Hussein, she will hold the title of "Crown Princess of Jordan."

The groom: born in 1994 in Amman, Jordan, is the son of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania. Prince Hussein has completed his education, including a major in international history at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK. He assumed the role of crown prince in 2009 and has since taken on official duties, accompanied his father on missions, and acted as regent during the king's absence. Prince Hussein actively engages in various initiatives, notably the Crown Prince Foundation, which focuses on youth development and humanitarian endeavors. At the age of 20, he made history by chairing a session of the United Nations Security Council, where he advocated for the involvement of young people in peacebuilding and the fight against extremism.

Watch the live feed from Al-Mamlaka below (Arabic) for a glimpse of the...fun

Here's a quick guide to how the royal wedding will proceed today

1. Venue: The ceremony will take place at Zahran Palace, which has a rich history of hosting royal weddings, including the marriage of current monarch King Abdullah II and King Hussein bin Talal.

2. Marriage ceremony: Sheikh Ahmed Al-Khalaileh, Imam of the Hashemite Court, will oversee the marriage contract proceedings, with witnesses from both the Hashemite and Al-Saif families present.

3. Red procession: Following the ceremony, the newlyweds will embark on an iconic Red Procession, a symbol of Jordanian national events. The procession will travel through the streets of Amman, starting from Zahran Palace and leading to Husseiniah Palace, where the procession will conclude. The celebration is set to last 5 hours

4. Street closures: To accommodate the festivities, several street closures will be in effect along the procession route. Celebration sites will be set up at various locations, including near the Kuwaiti and Canadian embassies, the Fifth and Sixth Circles, the Eighth Circle, King Abdullah II Street, and Shabab Circle.

5. Guest list: Dignitaries from around the world will attend the grand occasion. Notable attendees include the First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, Princess Victoria of Sweden, Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah of Malaysia, and Princess Hisako of Takamado from Japan.

6. Official celebrations: After the Red Procession, an official celebration will be held at Husseiniah Palace. Jordanians and residents will have the opportunity to join the festivities at designated stops along the procession route.

7. Traffic arrangements: The Greater Amman Municipality has coordinated with the General Security Directorate to manage traffic and provide designated areas for those following the procession. Free transportation buses will be available to facilitate access to the procession route.

8. In other parts of Jordan, from Aqaba to the north, pop-up concerts and outdoor festivities are taking place.

Jordan has long relied on Western support to shore up its economy, one of the world's biggest per capita recipients of U.S and European aid, and observers hope the wedding will also bring it closer to the regional powerhouse on its southern border.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to attend, Jordanian officials say, and the banquet tables will be studded with European and Asian royalty and senior U.S. figures too, including US First Lady Jill Biden and Britain's Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate.

In March, I had the honor of presenting @hadilaziz with the 2023 International Women of Courage award at the White House for her commitment to advocating for human rights.

Today, she was one of the first people to welcome me to her home country of Jordan. pic.twitter.com/3m7RD5CwAF

— Jill Biden (@FLOTUS) May 31, 2023

Prince Mohammed last visited Jordan a year ago following years of tensions, also prompting hopes then that warmer ties would unlock more fulsome economic support.

The wedding is also a milestone in Hussein's path towards the monarchy, with officials and insiders saying King Abdullah feels more confident that his country's prized stability will now be cemented.

The King had removed his younger half-brother Hamza as heir-designate in 2004.

Hamza was later accused of conspiring to overthrow the monarch in a foreign-inspired plot, but Jordan has not seen the upheavals that toppled neighbouring leaders and escaped relatively unscathed from the turmoil witnessed in the region in the last decade.

Jordan's biggest royal event in years

Excitement over the nuptials 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.

Shops had competing displays of royal regalia. Royal watchers speculated about which dress designer Alseif would select - still an official secret.

Nancy Tirana, a 28-year-old law intern, tells AFP she spent the last week scrutinising the bride's every move and stitch of clothing.

“She’s just so beautiful, so elegant, and it’s clear from her body language how much she loves the queen,” she said, referring to the groom's glamorous mother, Rania.

“I feel like all of Jordan is getting married,” Tirana gushed as she ate mansaf, Jordan’s national dish of milky mutton and rice.

Guests arriving in Amman

Earlier today, Saudi wedding guests and tourists — the men wearing white dishdasha robes and the women in brightly coloured abayas — filtered through the sleek marbled lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel in Amman.

Noura Al Sudairi, an aunt of the bride, was wearing sweatpants and sneakers on her way to breakfast.

“We are all so excited, so happy about this union,” she tells AFP. “Of course, it’s a beautiful thing for our families, and for the relationship between Jordan and Saudi Arabia.”
 

Prince William and his wife Kate arrive in Jordan

Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate arrived to witness the royal wedding.

The attendance of the British royals had been kept under wraps and was only confirmed by Jordanian state media a few hours before the start of the palace ceremony.

Videos of the Prince and Princess of Wales at the St Regis Hotel in Amman circulate on social media platforms.

 

 

 

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In addition to Prince William and his wife, the guest list includes an array of foreign aristocrats and dignitaries, including senior royals from Europe and Asia, as well as First Lady Jill Biden and US climate envoy John Kerry.

Royal fever sweeps Jordan

The royal wedding has already been greeted with fireworks, concerts and social media frenzy in the usually quiet desert kingdom.

Today, the royal red motorcade, reserved for special occasions, will cross the capital Amman to celebrate the bride and groom and mark the official start of the ceremony.

Here's a recap of the celebrations that took place ahead of the wedding earlier this week.

Good morning, and welcome to The New Arab's live coverage of the Jordanian royal wedding

At last, something interesting is happening in Jordan, a reliably peaceful kingdom not too known for much excitement or fanfare.

On Thursday, Jordan is celebrating its first royal wedding in thirty years, complete with a royal convoy in the capital Amman, festivities across the regions and provinces, and prominent royals in attendance including Prince William and Princess Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Jordan is following a script familiar in the United Kingdom involving none other than 'Will and Kate' themselves: Rejuvenating its monarchy by celebrating a fairy tale involving a young couple, the charismatic Crown Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah and Crown-Princess-to-be Rajwa al-Seif, a Saudi-born architect with links to the Saudi royal family.

The Jordanian monarchy is closely allied to the British royal family, and its rise to power dates back to the British-backed Great Arab Revolt midwived by such romanticised names in the UK as T.E. Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia and Gertrude Bell. King Abdullah II of Jordan and his always-elegant wife Queen Rania are regular guests at the ceremonies of the Windsors, from the Queen's funeral to King Charles' coronation in May.

Jordan's monarchy is constitutional, and draws its legitimacy from a combination of traditional credentials including lineage to the Hashemites, the royal house thought to descend from Prophet Mohammad's tribe; and a consultative process that involves elected legislature but that is not classed as fully democratic but that has succeeded over the years to stabilize itself in power despite formidable challenges led by the Israeli colonisation of Palestine.

It's a big day in Jordan that will renew the monarchy for the next half-century, and regardless of what Jordanians think of all of this, many are celebrating the party and enjoying the official holiday across the Arab kingdom.

Follow this live story for updates during the day