The Hashemites

Congratulations, Princess Iman!

14 August 2026 — The Royal Hashemite Court is pleased to announce that Her Royal Highness Princess Iman bint Abdullah II and Mr. Jameel Alexander Thermiotis were blessed, on 14 August 2026, with twin baby girls.

King Abdullah II of Jordan and other members of the royal family, dignitaries, and the Jordanian men's national football team dined at Khashoka, a Jordanian restaurant in Richardson, Texas, on 28 June 2026

5 August 2026: King Abdullah II received a delegation from the Arab Ministerial Committee tasked with mobilising international action in response to illegal Israeli policies and actions in occupied Jerusalem. 

During the meeting, attended by Crown Prince Hussein, His Majesty called for a unified Arab and Muslim stance and a joint effort to halt Israel’s unprecedented violations in Jerusalem, particularly at Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, underscoring that Jordan will continue to undertake its historic and legal role in safeguarding Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, under the Hashemite Custodianship. 

The delegation included the foreign ministers of Tunisia, Algeria, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Palestine, Egypt, and Morocco, as well as the secretary general of the League of Arab States, alongside foreign ministers and representatives from Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, and Malaysia.

4 August 2026: King Abdullah II chaired a meeting to review government plans to enhance Jordan’s energy and food security, as well as its proactive strategies to address the repercussions of regional and global developments.

During the meeting, attended by Crown Prince Hussein, His Majesty was briefed on the relevant ministries’ measures to enhance and align food and energy security plans.

The meeting addressed the importance of ongoing efforts to diversify energy sources and increase reliance on domestic and renewable energy sources, thereby enhancing self-sufficiency and supporting the competitiveness of economic sectors and essential services.

3 August 2026: King Abdullah II met with a group of military retirees during his visit to the 40th King Hussein bin Talal Royal Armoured Brigade.

The meeting, attended by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti, is part of His Majesty’s regular outreach to retired military personnel and veterans for discussions on pressing national and regional issues.

3 August 2026: King Abdullah II, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF), inaugurated new buildings for the 40th King Hussein bin Talal Royal Armoured Brigade, a formation of the Central Military Region.

His Majesty, accompanied by Crown Prince Hussein, was briefed by on the implementation of various stages of the project and its facilities.

Princess Raiyah of Jordan secretly divorces Roald Dahl's grandson – report

Princess Raiyah bint Al-Hussein of Jordan has secretly split from her husband Ned Donovan, it has been reported. 

The royal, who is the half-sister of the current King Abdullah II, married Roald Dahl's grandson in July 2020 – the first royal wedding after the coronavirus lockdown. 

However, they have now split, according to reports, with Ned, 32, moving on with Megan Tomlin, an American influencer. 

Ned and Megan tied the knot last week at St Margaret's Church in Babington, Somerset, according to the Daily Mail's Richard Eden. 

They were joined by guests including his half-sister, writer Sophie Dahl, and his godfather, Sir Nicholas Coleridge, the new chairman of the King's Foundation and provost of Prince George's future school Eton College. 

Ned has had a difficult time in recent years after his father, Patrick Donovan, sadly passed away in 2021 from cancer. 

In 2024, he was injured after stopping a pickpocket near the Houses of Parliament, telling the Metropolitan Police he'd been let down by "failures" within the force.  

Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan, President of the Jordan Football Association’s Statement:

“With all the controversy surrounding FIFA, world football is facing a clear cut crisis in leadership just before an upcoming election.

As someone who has been through this process before, I believe one thing needs to be done immediately: remove a secret ballot for Presidential elections!

Every other decision including hosting the World Cup is now done openly, except -of course- for presidential elections. With a President who we elect every four years and a council that makes all the decisions, a transparent ballot is the only way to hold us as MA Presidents accountable in front of our own football fans, officials and players who elected us. At the same time it is protection for each and every MA who might be pressured to make a decision based on coercion behind closed doors as has happened in the past. But most importantly it will empower each and every MA on the most critical vote we have, the leadership of the biggest and most popular sport in the world and the direction it takes in the future.

There is no shortage of issues regarding FIFA. Let me start by clarifying what some of these are from an FA perspective, in particular that of Jordan going into a World Cup for the first time.

We are a small country with a minimal budget for our FA and had to deal with enormous hurdles. First, getting our fans into the USA: not all were granted VISAS, even though they had tickets -which we also know were sold at exorbitant prices.

Secondly, we are being taxed by the US govt through FIFA for our participation. Money that should go to players and staff. This was not the case for those who played and set up camp in Canada and Mexico. But we happened to be in the USA so now we face these huge costs in taxes for having participated.

Thirdly we have been waiting for reward money for our players since December for the Arab cup in Qatar, which is a FIFA event. The money our team should receive for having reached the final has not been delivered yet, while at the same time FIFA brags about how many billions they have in reserve.

It is clear the problem really is with leadership. For months, FIFA has been refusing to help us on any of these or other matters- until it was verbally communicated to me during the World Cup that if I endorsed Infantino it would go a long way to helping our FA out.

Happy birthday, Princess Iman bint Hussein!

2 August 2026: Deputising for King Abdullah II, Crown Prince Hussein received United States Senator Joni Ernst, and her accompanying delegation.

During the meeting, the Crown Prince emphasised the importance of de-escalating tensions in order to achieve regional and international stability, underscoring Jordan’s commitment to supporting efforts to bring about comprehensive calm in the region.

Royal Fashion → Sayidaty Magazine (April 2025)