Their wedding last June was the royal wedding of the year globally, and now Crown Prince Hussein and Princess Rajwa of Jordan are set to make 2024 a memorable year, as well: they are expecting their first child.
Hussein, the heir to the Jordanian throne, is the son of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania; when he married the former Rajwa Al Saif on June 1, 2023, boldfaced names from around the world traveled to the event, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Carole and Pippa Middleton, U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and her daughter Ashley, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, then Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark (who are now King and Queen after Frederick’s mother Queen Margrethe’s surprise abdication in January), and many more.
“The Royal Hashemite Court is pleased to announce that Their Royal Highnesses Prince Hussen bin Abdullah II, Crown Prince, and Princess Rajwa Al Hussein are expecting, with God’s help and grace, their first child, in the summer of this year,” the Jordanian Royal Family shared in a statement. “The Royal Hashemite Court extends its sincere congratulations to Their Majesties King Abullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah on this occasion, and wishes Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Al Hussein and Princess Rajwa good health and joy as they welcome their baby.”
Since their wedding 10 months ago, the royal couple visited Singapore on an official visit in January, where Hussein spoke at an event and said Jordan “aspires to be a rising force on the global tech scene,” according to Tatler.
Hussein is known to be especially close to William, The Mirror reports, and William and Kate attended their first major royal international event when they were guests at the couple’s wedding at Zahran Palace. Kate—stunning in a flowing dusky pink Elie Saab dress for the ceremony before changing into a glittering Jenny Packham gown and the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara for the glamorous evening celebrations that hosted 1,700—has a special connection to Jordan, as her family lived there for three years when she was young. Kate’s father, Michael Middleton, was relocated there while working for British Airways. In 2021, William and Kate took their children to Jordan for a private holiday, and a family photo at the ancient city of Petra was what was used for the family Christmas card that year.
Hussein and Rajwa announced their engagement in August 2022; Rajwa—an architect before marrying into the royal family—is originally from Saudi Arabia and attended Syracuse University in the U.S. She worked in Los Angeles before her engagement and also has a degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in L.A. At her wedding, Rajwa wore two wedding gowns—one by Elie Saab, complete with an asymmetrical neckline and sweeping white train embroidered with flowers.
Hussein is a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England as well as Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and he serves as captain in the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, People reports.
The baby on the way will be the first grandchild of King Abdullah and Queen Rania, and will receive the styling of His or Her Royal Highness and the title of Prince or Princess, Gerts Royals reports.
