Princess Raiyah bint Hussein

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Princess Raiyah bint Al Hussein

| title =

| image = File:Princess Riayah Investiture (cropped).jpg

| caption = Princess Raiyah in 2023

| spouse = {{marriage|Faris Ned Donovan|7 July 2020}}

| issue =

| full name = Raiyah bint Hussein bin Talal bin Abdullah

| house = Hashemite

| father = Hussein of Jordan

| mother = Lisa Halaby

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1986|2|9|df=y}}

| birth_place = Amman, Jordan

| occupation = Academic

}}

Princess Raiyah bint Al Hussein{{cite web|url=https://rhc.jo/en/media/news/statement-royal-hashemite-court-12|title=Statement from the Royal Hashemite Court|work=The Royal Hashemite Court|date=1 June 2023|accessdate=1 June 2023}} ({{langx|ar|راية بنت الحسين}}; born 9 February 1986{{cite book|last=George|first=Alan|title=Jordan : living in the crossfire|year=2005|publisher=Zed Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1-84277-471-7|pages=170|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GhSge_Tq09sC&q=princess+raiyah+1986&pg=PA170}}) is the younger daughter of King Hussein of Jordan and Queen Noor. She has two brothers, Hamzah and Hashem, as well as an elder sister, Princess Iman.{{cite book|last=Green|first=Joey|title=How they met: fateful encounters of famous lovebirds, rivals, partners in crime, and other strange bedfellows|year=2003|publisher=Black Dog Publishing|isbn=978-1-57912-327-7|pages=136|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ciwR-zDq-wIC&q=Princess+Raiyah&pg=PA136}} She is a half-sister to King Abdullah II of Jordan.{{cite web |url= http://www.alc.ucla.edu/people/grad/|title= Immediate Family Tree | publisher= The Royal Hashemite Court |access-date= 26 March 2015}}

Early life and education

Princess Raiyah was born on 9 February 1986 at King Hussein Medical Center in Wadi Al-Seer, Amman, She is youngest daughter of the four children of Hussein of Jordan and Queen Noor of Jordan. She attended the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales and received her undergraduate degree in Japanese at the University of Edinburgh.{{cite news |last=Pooran |first=Neil |date=10 May 2013 |title=Edinburgh University's ultra-rich graduates inherit their money from family fortunes |url=http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2013/05/10/edinburgh-universitys-ultra-rich-graduates-inherit-their-money-from-family-fortunes/ |newspaper= Deadline News |location=Edinburgh, Scotland |access-date= 26 March 2015}}{{cite web |url= http://www.alc.ucla.edu/people/grad/|title= Graduate Students | publisher= The Department of Asian Languages & Cultures is part of the Humanities Division within UCLA College |access-date= 26 March 2015}} She took a year abroad studying at Ritsumeikan University in Japan. She received a postgraduate degree in Japanese literature from Columbia University.{{Cite web |title=Raiyah Bint Al-Hussein |url=https://www.international.ucla.edu/japan/people/students/1764 |access-date=2022-12-31 |website=www.international.ucla.edu}}{{Cite web |title=M.A. Convocation Booklet 2014 {{!}} PDF |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/225271749/M-A-Convocation-Booklet-2014 |access-date=2022-12-31 |website=Scribd |language=en}}

She later moved to Tokyo, where she spent three years working in the field of human development.[http://www.international.ucla.edu/japan/people/students/1764 International Ucla]

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 (UCLA).{{cite web |url= http://www.alc.ucla.edu/people/grad/|title= Graduate Students | publisher= The Department of Asian Languages & Cultures is part of the Humanities Division within UCLA College |access-date= 26 March 2015}}

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.{{Cite web|title=Japan-Jordan Relations (Basic Data)|url=https://www.mofa.go.jp/region/middle_e/jordan/data.html|access-date=2020-06-08|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan|language=en}} In 2008, she formed part of a Jordanian delegation during an official visit with King Abdullah II to South Korea.{{Cite web|title=King Abdullah Ii Of Jordan Visits South Korea Stock Pictures, Royalty-free Photos & Images - Getty Images|url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/king-abdullah-ii-of-jordan-visits-south-korea?mediatype=photography&phrase=king%20abdullah%20ii%20of%20jordan%20visits%20south%20korea&sort=best|access-date=2020-06-08|website=www.gettyimages.co.uk}}

Personal life

On 5 November 2019, the court announced Princess Raiyah's engagement to British-born journalist Ned Donovan,{{cite web |title=Statement from the Royal Hashemite Court |url=http://petra.gov.jo/Include/InnerPage.jsp?ID=20031&lang=en&name=en_news |website=Royal Hashemite Court}} son of writer Tessa Dahl and Patrick Donovan, maternal grandson of Roald Dahl and Patricia Neal, and paternal grandson of Francis Patrick Donovan and Maria Kozslik.{{cite news |title=Roald Dahl's grandson announces engagement to Jordanian Princess |website=The Daily Telegraph |date=5 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204162653/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/05/roald-dahls-grandson-announces-engagement-jordanian-princess/ |archive-date=2022-12-04 |url-status=live |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/05/roald-dahls-grandson-announces-engagement-jordanian-princess}} His half-sister is the model Sophie Dahl, who is married to the singer Jamie Cullum.

The pair married on 7 July 2020 in the United Kingdom with the permission of King Abdullah II,{{Cite web|title=Jordan News Agency (Petra)|url=https://petra.gov.jo/Include/InnerPage.jsp?ID=26578&lang=en&name=en_news|access-date=2020-07-07|website=petra.gov.jo}} after their planned wedding in Jordan was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web|last=Hallemann|first=Caroline|date=2020-07-08|title=Princess Raiyah of Jordan Marries Roald Dahl's Grandson in the First Royal Wedding of the Pandemic|url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a33250270/princess-raiyah-of-jordan-royal-wedding-photos/|access-date=2022-02-24|website=Town & Country|language=en-US}} In 2023, she was made a Dame of the Order of St. John.{{cite web | url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/a44128844/king-charles-princess-raiyah-dame/ | title=King Charles Makes Princess Raiyah a Dame |website=Town & Country | date=8 June 2023 }}

Princess Raiyah is reportedly close with Talulah Riley, who referred to Raiyah as “my brain twin and most beloved voice in the universe” in the acknowledgment section of one of her novels.{{cite web | url=https://fortune.com/2022/10/04/twitter-texts-released-court-case-reveal-elon-musk-ex-wife-talulah-riley-asked-him-fight-wokeism/ | title=Twitter texts released in court case reveal Elon Musk's ex-wife asked him to 'Please do something to fight woke-ism' |publisher=Fortune |date=4 October 2022 }}

Patronages

Patron of The Performing Arts Center of Jordan.{{cn|date=June 2020}}

Honours

{{flag|Jordan}}:
70px Knight Grand Cordon, Special Class of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance[https://www.jordanianroyals.tumblr.com/post/721005529113214976/princess-raiyah-bint-al-hussein-of-jordan-has-been/amp Jordanian Royals]
70px Recipient of the Al-Hussein Medal of Excellence in Gold (First Class) {{cn|date=June 2020}}

{{flag|United Kingdom}}:
70px Dame of Justice of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (12 April 2023){{cite web |title=Order of St John |url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/4373432 |website=London Gazette |access-date=8 June 2023}}