Five major occasions for the Jordanian royal family in 2023

For the Jordanian royal family, 2023 is a bumper year of celebration.

Along with two royal weddings, there are several other milestones involving all the family.

From graduations to important anniversaries, we take a look at all the events to celebrate.

March: Princess Iman's wedding

On March 12, Princess Iman, 26, the eldest daughter of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, married Venezuela-born Jameel Thermiotis at her family’s palace on the outskirts of Amman, a ceremony attended by members of the royal family, friends and dignitaries.

The princess wore a custom Dior lace gown, paired with a diamond tiara.

Sharing several photos from the day on Instagram, Queen Rania wrote: “Iman, I pray this next chapter in your life brings you as much joy, love, and laughter as you have brought us over the years. Congratulations to the bride and groom!”

Crown Prince Hussein, who walked his sister down the aisle, wrote: “Grateful for all the precious memories we share and overjoyed to see you celebrate your wedding today … I wish you, dear Iman and Jameel, a lifetime of blessings and happiness together.”

May: Princess Salma’s university graduation

In early May, Princess Salma, 22, graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in archaeology.

Her parents, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, were in the US for the ceremony, where they watched the princess collect her degree in robes embroidered with the Jordanian flag.

Sharing photos from the day, Queen Rania spoke of her pride at watching the young princess graduate.

“So proud to celebrate my Salma’s graduation yesterday from the University of Southern California. I can’t wait to see what you do next. Congratulations!,” she wrote on Instagram.

May: Prince Hashem's high school graduation

Prince Hashem, 18, the youngest of Queen Rania and King Abdullah II’s four children, graduated from high school on May 24.

Proudly sharing pictures as Prince Hashem collected his high school diploma from King’s Academy in a traditional cap and gown, Queen Rania wrote: “Guys, can we slow down a bit? This mum needs to catch her breath! Another proud family moment at Hashem's high school graduation today.”

Prince Hashem was presented with his diploma by his father, who proudly kissed him on the cheek as he walked on stage to collect it, with his mother and siblings clapping in the front row.

June: Crown Prince Hussein's wedding

On June 1, Jordan will celebrate its second royal wedding of the year, as Crown Prince Hussein weds his Saudi fiancée, Rajwa Al Saif.

The ceremony will be held at Amman’s Zahran Palace before celebrations continue at Al Husseiniya Palace, where there will be a private banquet.

On Monday, the first official pre-wedding celebration took place as the bride-to-be joined Queen Rania and her future sisters-in-law to celebrate her henna party in the grounds of Zahran Palace.

Queen Rania shared photos and videos from the occasion online, saying she couldn’t wait to celebrate “our beautiful Rajwa”.

June: Queen Rania and King Abdullah's 30th wedding anniversary

On June 10, just days after watching their eldest son tie the knot at the same venue they did, Queen Rania and King Abdullah will celebrate a milestone of their own – their 30th wedding anniversary.

Queen Rania and King Abdullah II were married on June 10, 1993. Getty Images

On June 10, 1993, 22-year-old Queen Rania left Zahran Palace with her new husband in an open-top car, before taking part in a procession through the streets of Amman, waving to the waiting crowds.

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

Key changes

Commission caps

For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:

• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).

• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).

• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.

• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.

• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.

Disclosure

Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.

“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”

Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.

Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.

“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.

Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.

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Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

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