He’s heir to the throne in one of the oldest monarchies in the Middle East and a descendant of the prophet Muhammad. She’s a Saudi architect with an aristocratic pedigree of her own.
Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, 28, and Rajwa Alseif, 29, are to be married Thursday in a palace wedding in Jordan, a Western-allied monarchy that has been a bastion of stability for decades as regional turmoil has lapped at its borders.
The families have not said how the couple met or provided any details about their courtship. They were formally engaged at a traditional Muslim ceremony in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in August that was attended by senior members of Jordan’s royal family.
The bride and groom are destined to become a power couple in the Middle East, forging a new bond between Jordan and Saudi Arabia as the latter seeks to transform itself into a regional power broker.
Here’s a look at the bride and groom.
A U.S.-educated architect with Arabian tribal roots
Alseif was born in Riyadh on April 28, 1994, the youngest of four children.
Her mother, Azza bint Nayef Abdulaziz Ahmad Al Sudairi, is related to Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, who is said to have been the favorite wife of Saudi Arabia’s founder, King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, and gave birth to seven of his sons, including the country’s current ruler, King Salman.
For decades, the so-called Sudairi Seven, most of whom are now deceased, were seen as a major locus of power within the Saudi royal family.
Alseif’s father, Khalid, is a member of the Subai, a prominent tribe in the Arabian Peninsula with ancient roots. He’s also the founder of El Seif Engineering Contracting, which built Riyadh’s iconic Kingdom Tower and other high-rises across the Middle East.
Rajwa studied architecture at Syracuse University in New York, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2017. A graduation video shows her receiving her degree in sparkling silver sneakers.
The year before, she led a spring break architecture symposium in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, that was funded by her father’s company.
“What made this trip so memorable for me ... was seeing the students in the studio experience Arabic culture and architecture for the first time,” she was quoted as saying by a university newspaper.
She went on to earn a degree in visual communications from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.
An official biography shared by the Jordanian royal palace says her hobbies include horseback riding and handmade arts, and that she is fluent in English, French and her native Arabic.