By Jennifer McShane
08th Jul 2020
08th Jul 2020
British journalist Ned Donovan has married Princess Raiyah of Jordan (Raiyah bint Hussein) in an intimate ceremony in England
The first royal wedding of the year has taken place in accordance with the new rules in the UK, which since July 4th, say that wedding and civil partnership ceremonies can go ahead – as long social distancing measures remain in place.
Princess Raiyah of Jordan married British journalist Ned Donovan — the grandson of children’s book author Roald Dahl — in an intimate ceremony after Donovan proposed to the Princess in October last year after the pair met in India in 2018.
The 34-year-old princess explained she originally planned to tie the knot in April, but had to change her date due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Photo via: @Channel24
This marks the first royal wedding since the COVID-19 outbreak.
“Thank you all for your kind messages on our wedding,” Princess Raiyah tweeted. “While it was originally planned for April in Jordan, the pandemic derailed those plans and it was safer for my husband’s family to hold it in the UK. God willing we look forward to celebrating in Jordan once the situation allows.”
Photo via: @RaiyahHKJ
The Princess – currently studying for a PhD in pre-modern Japanese literature at UCLA – wore a traditional white long-sleeve wedding gown, featuring intricate floral beading and a floor-length veil paired with a diamond-encrusted headpiece.
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It was certainly a paired back wedding by royal standards; while the bride’s mother, Queen Noor, was in attendance, the ceremony was limited to four people (excluding the bride and groom) and under the new measures no food was consumed and there was no music.
Speaking of royal weddings, Princess Beatrice’s wedding was also set to take place at St James’s Palace on 29th May, which, due to the pandemic, has been postponed until further notice.
Main photograph: @RaiyahHKJ
Related: What you need to know about planning your post-Covid wedding, according to 4 wedding experts
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