As the wife of Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan, Princess Rajwa is on track to be the next Queen of Jordan. To celebrate her 30th birthday, we take a look at her life so far.
Rajwa Khaled bin Musaed bin Saif bin Abdulaziz Al Saif was born on 28 April 1994 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to the late Khaled bin Musaed bin Saif bin Abdulaziz Al Saif (a businessman) and Azza bint Nayef Abdulaziz Ahmad Al Sudairi. The youngest of their children, Rajwa has three older siblings: Faisal, Nayef and Dana.
She has royal links – she is a first cousin, twice removed, of King Salman of Saudi Arabia through her mother. Additionally, her family can be traced back to the Subai tribe, who were sheikhs of Al-Attar since the reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud (the founder and first King of Saudi Arabia).
Rajwa’s secondary education took place in Saudi Arabia, but her post-secondary education took her to the United States, where she studied at the School of Architecture at Syracuse University in New York. She later obtained a designation degree in Visual Communications from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.
Before her marriage, she worked at an architecture firm in Los Angeles and later in Riyadh at the Designlab Experience design studio.
Rajwa’s engagement to Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan (the son of King Abdullah and Queen Rania) was announced on 17 August 2022. Their engagement ceremony took place at her family’s home in Riyadh with the King, Queen, male members of the Jordanian Royal Family and Al Saif family in attendance.
Queen Rania later hosted the traditional Henna party for her future daughter-in-law at Madareb Bani Hashem.
The pair wed on 1 June 2023 in a Muslim ceremony at Zahran Palace in Amman. King Abdullah issued a Royal Decree on the wedding day granting Rajwa the title of Princess of Jordan.
Rajwa wore a custom white asymmetrical neckline gown by Elie Saab and a new tiara with “Rajwa min Allah” (Hope from God) written in Arabic in a diamond scroll. Queen Rania’s Office told me last year that the tiara was inspired by the Queen’s remarks at Rajwa’s Henna party when she called Rajwa the “perfect answer” to her prayers for her son.
Less than a year after her wedding, Rajwa’s successful businessman father died on 18 February 2024 at the age of 71. King Abdullah ordered the Royal Hashemite Court to mourn for three days in memory of the Princess’s father.
The Royal Hashemite Court announced that Hussein and Rajwa are expecting their first child in the summer of 2024, although an exact due date was not revealed. If the child is a boy, he will be second in line to the Jordanian throne. However, if it is a girl, she will not be in the line of succession, as Jordan does not allow women to reign in their own right.
The Princess has undertaken royal duties inside and outside of Jordan since marrying Crown Prince Hussein, but as she is new to the royal fold, her engagements have been limited. As she grows into her role, she is expected to begin undertaking more and more duties.
It remains to be seen what causes she will champion, but with a mother-in-law like Queen Rania to guide her, she’s sure to bring awareness and help many organisations and people.
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