Cheers greet Royal newlyweds as Jordan celebrates historic wedding

AMMAN — The Kingdom was gripped by wedding fever on Thursday, as crowds of Jordanians took to the streets to celebrate the union of Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa.

Beaming pictures of the Royal couple along with Jordanian flags have adorned the streets of the capital and other governorates the week preceding the wedding. The two tied the knot at Zahran Palace, after which they embarked on a procession to Al Husseiniya Palace, accompanied by the Royal Red Motorcade.

Festivities filled the streets, and many well-wishers wore t-shirts featuring the phrase “Celebrating Al Hussein”, along with the national red-and-white checkered headdress known in Arabic as the shemagh. 

Convoys of cars traversed the capital blasting music and waving Jordanian flags. Women adorned in the traditional embroidered Jordanian dress, known as a thobe, were also spotted distributing candy to passersby, with many others performing dabke dances on the streets.

“All these celebrations show how truly beloved our Hashemite knight is,” Jordanian Ghadeer Haddadin told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Haddadin, a mother of two girls, celebrated the wedding by decorating her car with Jordan’s flags, in addition to buying her family t-shirts and hats marked with congratulatory phrases for the Royal couple.

“We drove around in our cars to see the exciting celebrations on the streets, then went back home in time for the live stream of the Royal wedding… we didn’t want to miss any part of it,” she said, noting that its ceremonies were marked by a “true Jordanian character”.

Haddadin noted that this event has placed Jordan under the international spotlight, adding that all its accompanying festivities show how “loving and united” its people are.

“We’re celebrating because we’re happy … it feels like a national wedding,” Omar, 17, told The Jordan Times, as he was headed to see the Royal procession with his cousins and aunt.

“It’s a happy day for all Jordanians,” Mohammad Adnan, who was selling flags on the street on Thursday, told The Jordan Times. 

“I have been here since yesterday … I haven’t even slept; I ran out of flags at midnight, then brought more and came back,” he added. 

Khaled Qudah, a senior journalist and member of the Jordan Press Foundation's (JPA) council, spoke with The Jordan Times about the traditions of the Royal wedding.

He noted that in accordance with the 1937 Royal Family Law, Miss Rajwa officially became part of Jordan’s Royal family after wedding the Crown Prince. 

In adherence to Royal traditions, a Royal Decree is issued following the wedding awarding her the title of princess, after which she will be known as “HRH Princess Rajwa Al Hussein”, Qudah said.

Characterising the Royal Red Motorcade as integral part of Jordanian traditions, Qudah also pointed out that the motorcade also appeared during the wedding of His Majesty King Abdullah and Her Majesty Queen Rania. 

The practice can also be seen on other occasions of national and political importance, such as the opening of Parliament’s ordinary session and Speeches from the Throne, he added.