Jordan’s royal wedding will echo across the Middle East and beyond
The Middle Eastern country of Jordan is set to host its biggest royal wedding in years Thursday as the country’s young Crown Prince Hussein exchanges vows with Rajwa Alseif, daughter of one of Saudi Arabia’s wealthiest and most influential families.
With a VIP list that includes first lady Jill Biden, White House climate envoy John Kerry and members of several European and Asian royal families, the wedding is sure to provide plenty of fodder for tabloids and gossip columns.
But the ceremony will reverberate across the region in other ways as well. It is a test of sorts for Jordan’s ruling family, which has gone through a rough patch in recent years due to economic troubles and some public infighting. It deepens the ties between two countries in a turbulent region. And perhaps most importantly, it will give the world its first glimpse of the man tapped to one day rule this desert kingdom.
Longtime AP journalist Josef Federman has been covering the Middle East for two decades, and in 2019 began overseeing all coverage of Jordan. He says it’s a strong U.S. ally — and seen as a pro-Western bulwark and source of stability in a volatile region.
Here, Federman breaks down what this wedding means for the country, for the region — and, of course, for the new royal couple.
FOR JORDAN
The royal wedding is a big deal for Jordan’s royal family. It’s a chance for the monarchy to show its best face to its own public and also to the outside world after a rough couple of years.
Jordan has lots of challenges, lots of problems. It is home to a huge population of refugees who fled war in neighboring Syria and neighboring Iraq, and of course a large Palestinian population as well. Relations with Israel have been strained for the past few years.
Its economy is in poor shape. It’s a country with few natural resources. It’s even been dealing with some palace intrigue. For the past two years, the former crown prince Hamzah has been under house arrest after the king accused him of insubordination. Hamzah was a popular figure with the Jordanian public — especially in poorer tribal areas. It is rare for the royal family to air its dirty laundry like that, and the king’s crackdown on his half brother certainly raised some eyebrows.
We will see lots of pomp and circumstance. Hussein’s parents, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, have global star appeal. We will see visiting VIPs, European royalty, Asian royalty from Japan.
FOR THE REGION
This wedding is creating a union of people from the highest levels of important countries. That always packs a punch.
Jordan is seen as a strategic ally for the West. It may be poor, but its location gives it great importance. It’s in the heart of the Middle East. It borders a number of problematic countries: Syria, with a civil war; Iraq, which is recovering from war; and Israel and the West Bank, which are in a constant state of friction. So Jordan is an important source of stability for the region.
Saudi Arabia is important for other reasons. It is an immensely wealthy country. It’s a leading oil producer and a rising power globally. Traditionally it’s been a key U.S. ally, though that has begun to change. You see it making up with Iran. You see it forging ties with China, resisting U.S. requests to pump more oil.
Jordan depends heavily on international aid. But it has seen aid from wealthy Gulf oil states like Saudi Arabia decrease in recent years. This wedding is likely raising some hopes in Jordan of restoring that flow of aid.