To mark Princess Rajwa's 31st birthday this week, her husband, Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein, posted a previously unseen portrait of the pair on social media.
"Happy birthday Rajwa! Grateful for the love, kindness and warmth you bring into Iman’s life and mine,” the crown prince wrote, referring to their baby daughter.
The informal photograph shows Prince Hussein wearing a black polo shirt and black trousers, while the princess mirrors his relaxed look in a caramel-coloured dress and cardigan by American label Khaite. Her look is completed with a gold charm necklace and a pair of gold earrings made with rare Bahraini pearls.
The drop earrings were custom-made for the princess by Mattar, a pearl specialist that has been working with natural pearls from the Arabian Gulf for 175 years.
Inspired by traditional lampshades, the drop earrings are a nod to regional culture while being resolutely modern. Sculptural gold beads and white diamonds are interspaced with the natural pearls.
This is not the first time that Mattar has found royal favour. Prince Hussein's mother Queen Rania of Jordan has been photographed carrying a Mattar clutch bag decorated with pearls.
Faten Mattar is a sixth-generation member of the family business, as well as its director of brand and communications. She told The National why the company is well placed to supply bespoke jewellery to royalty.
"Our mandate is to get everyone to wear natural pearls, and if you ask me what we enjoy and love doing, it's always [designing and making] the bespoke pieces. With natural pearls being unique, every single piece is different," she says.
The company is known for its expertise and has worked Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpel.
"We do have buyers come in for some royalty or ultra-high-net-worth people," says Mattar, adding diplomatically: "But in these particular cases, people of the same calibre gifted them the pieces."
In an era of over-exposure, she believes the company's enduring appeal lies in its discretion. "People tell us: 'Oh, I'm shocked that I don't know about you,'" Mattar says. "But in our line of business, that's how it should be. It's about being exclusive."
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Results
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Aatebat Al Khalediah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer).
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Dubai Avenue, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: My Catch, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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The five pillars of Islam
