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Prince Hussein's bride Rajwa's golden mermaid dress paid hidden tribute to in-laws

Queen Rania shared photos of her soon-to-be daughter-in-law's henna party

Rajwa at her henna party ahead of her wedding
Nichola Murphy
Deputy Lifestyle Editor
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Preparations are well underway for Prince Hussein's wedding with Rajwa Al-Saif, with the latter celebrating her henna party at the Royal Hashemite Court’s Madareb Bani Hashem on Monday.

The bride-to-be looked radiant for the occasion, with pictures shared by her soon-to-be mother-in-law Queen Rania showing her wearing a white floor-length gown by Saudi designer Honayda with a mermaid skirt and long sleeves. It was adorned with gold embroidery around the waist, bodice and cuffs, and teamed with a flowing white 10-metre veil with matching gold thread. 

Prince Hussein's bride's gown was designed by xxx© Royal Hashemite Court
Prince Hussein's bride's gown was designed by Honayda

In a sweet nod to Prince Hussein and her in-laws, the dress – which is inspired by the traditional Najdi dress from Saudi Arabia – is said to combine elements from both Jordan and Saudi Arabia. 

Queen Rania and Rajwa-Al-Saif© Royal Hashemite Court
Rajwa's dress took 340 hours to make, while her veil took 760 hours

One look at the intricate design and it's clear that the design and creation of her pre-wedding dress must have been a lengthy process. In fact, the designer told Vogue Arabia it took 340 hours to create the gown and another 760 hours for the veil, which features seven Jordanian stars symbolizing the seven verses in the opening chapter of the Holy Qur'an and the seven mountains of Amman. 

Princess Iman and Princess Salma pictured alongside Rajwa and Queen Rania© Royal Hashemite Court
Rajwa celebrated her henna party on Monday

"No celebration would be complete without our Jordanian family. Celebrating our beautiful Rajwa," Rania captioned a series of photos. In one image, Rajwa and Rania can be seen warmly embracing, while in another they can be seen walking hand in hand. 

"Beautiful bride and a great week of celebrations ahead!! All of Jordan will be celebrating with you this week," wrote one follower, and a second remarked: "What beauties." A third added: "Resplendent. Beautiful attire."

Rajwa-Al-Saif's Henna Party 2023© Royal Hashemite Court
The bride-to-be was pictured hugging Queen Rania

A third picture shows Rajwa dabbing tears from her eyes with a napkin as the royal, dressed in a gorgeous blue gown, made a speech. Sharing a few words about her future daughter-in-law, the Queen described Miss Rajwa as “the sweetest and most beautiful bride-to-be”, adding that she is as precious to her as her daughters Princesses Iman and Salma.

Rania made a speech during the ceremony of Rajwa-Al-Saif's Henna Party 2023© Royal Hashemite Court
Rania made a moving speech during the ceremony

"I’ll never forget how happy His Majesty and I were when Al Hussein told us he wanted to marry Rajwa. She is the perfect answer to all my prayers for him," Rania said, before wishing the couple a blessed and happy future. "May you always be each other’s source of happiness and support," she added. 

WATCH: Royal wedding dresses that will go down in history

While fans eagerly wait to see Rajwa's wedding dress, we do have an idea of the dress code for guests thanks to the Queen of Malaysia, Queen Azizah. She denied ongoing rumours it is a white tie event, revealing guests have been asked to wear black tie and long dresses but no tiaras.

The Crown Prince of Jordan and Rajwa Al Saif will marry next month© Instagram
The Crown Prince of Jordan and Rajwa Al Saif will get married in June
 

Other guests who have confirmed their attendance are Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden, Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, and Princess Hisakoa and Princess Tsuguko of Japan.

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