Princess Raiyah bint Hussein ( ar, راية بنت الحسين; born 9 February 1986) is the younger daughter of

King Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...

and

Queen Noor Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. She has two brothers,

Hamzah Hamza ( ar, همزة ') () is a letter in the Arabic alphabet, representing the glottal stop . Hamza is not one of the 28 "full" letters and owes its existence to historical inconsistencies in the orthography, standard writing system. It is de ...

and

Hashem HaShem ( Hebrew: ''hšm'', literally "''the name''"; often abbreviated to 'h′'' is a title used in Judaism to refer to God. It is also a given name and surname. Religious usage * In Judaism, ''HaShem'' (lit. 'the Name') is used to refer t ...

, as well as an elder sister, Princess Iman. She is a half-sister to King

Abdullah II of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of t ...

Education

Princess Raiyah attended the

United World College of the Atlantic Atlantic College (formally the United World College of the Atlantic; alternatively styled UWC Atlantic College, UWCAC, or UWCA) is an independent boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. Founded in 1962, it was the first of th ...

in Wales and received her undergraduate degree in Japanese at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. She took a year abroad studying at

Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. With the Kinugasa Campus (KIC) in Kyoto, and Kyoto Prefecture, the university also has a satellite called Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) and Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC). Tod ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. She received a postgraduate degree in Japanese literature from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. She later moved to Tokyo, where she spent three years working in the field of human development. Currently, Princess Raiyah is a graduate student studying a PhD in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures on "the reception of medieval warrior narratives in Japan and the Arab World and their impact upon the construction of national identities" at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(UCLA).

Official duties

Princess Raiyah took part in official visits to Japan in 2007 and 2008, and accompanied King Abdullah II to the country in April 2009. In 2008, she formed part of a Jordanian delegation on an official visit with King Abdullah II to South Korea.

Personal life

On 5 November 2019, the court announced Princess Raiyah's engagement to British-born journalist Ned Donovan, son of writer

Tessa Dahl Chantal Sophia "Tessa" Dahl (born 11 April 1957) is an English author and former actress. She is the daughter of British author Roald Dahl and American actress Patricia Neal. Early life Dahl was born in Oxford, the second daughter of British au ...

and Patrick Donovan, maternal grandson of

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

and

Patricia Neal Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...

, and paternal grandson of Francis Patrick Donovan and Maria Kozslik. His half-sister is the model

Sophie Dahl Sophie Dahl (born Sophie Holloway on 15 September 1977, later taking her mother's name for professional reasons) is an English author and former fashion model. Her first novel, ''The Man with the Dancing Eyes'', was published in 2003 followed b ...

, who is married to the singer

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

. The pair married on 7 July 2020 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

with the permission of King Abdullah II, after their planned wedding in Jordan was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Princess Raiyah is reportedly very close with

Talulah Riley Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005''; Ancestry.com. Retrieved 3 November 2015. (born 26 September 1985) is an English actress and writer. She has appeared in films, including '' Pride & P ...

, who referred to Raiyah as “my brain twin and most beloved voice in the universe” in the acknowledgment section of one of her novels.

Patronages

* Patron of The Performing Arts Center of Jordan.

Honours

* : **

Knight Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance, Special Class ** Al-Hussein Medal for Excellence

Recipient of the Al-Hussein Medal of Excellence in Gold (First Class)

Ancestry

References

1986 births Living people Jordanian princesses Jordanian people of Scottish descent Jordanian people of English descent Jordanian people of Swedish descent Jordanian people of American descent Jordanian people of Syrian descent People educated at Atlantic College People educated at a United World College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh University of California, Los Angeles alumni Ritsumeikan University alumni Daughters of kings {{Jordan-bio-stub