Princess Haya of Jordan to Sheikh Mohamad Bin Rashad Al-Maktoum of Dubai: 2004

[maryshawn]

I just happened to be surfing the web and was shocked when I saw the photo of Princess Haya and her new husband. She's 30, gorgeous, smart, brought up and certainly influenced by a western stepmother...... This just seems so out of character. She looks so young and innocent and he looks like her grandfather, for goodness sake. I did not know until I read the postings here he was married. I don't think King Hussein would've approved one bit. I do agree with those who think this is a looking for a father thing. Being one of 12 children with a very busy father and losing her mother at such a young age, I wonder how much that impacted her choice. It just seems so odd. I know King Hussein was 16 years older than Queen Noor but somehow that didn't seem as unappealing. I read Princess Haya and her new husband share a love of horses but is that enough? I always saw her as someone who could have her pick of husbands and this choice was unexpected and difficult to understand. How many wives does he have now? I don't get it.

Mary Shawn

[tanya]

Haya is a grown woman and I'm sure she went into this decesion with her eyes wide open.

[srbjakoska]

Originally posted by maryshawn@Apr 17th, 2004 - 6:01 pm
I know King Hussein was 16 years older than Queen Noor but somehow that didn't seem as unappealing.

i agree with you, may be its the fact that King Hussein was much more attractive than this guy that Haya is getting married too. I can kind of try to get pass the age gap but the looks, i dont understand how such a beautiful woman can be attracted to such an unattractive person.

[carlota]

poor girl... he is so old and she is so preetty and young... :(

do you think she'll dress as rania? or is dubai a more conservative country than jordan? maybe she will have to wear her burka always...

[lovy_bear]

Yes, I agree with Tanya. PH is definitely a full grown woman and can make fully conscious decisions for herself. I don't think that age should be much of an issue. Some people claim that her husband is "unattractive" and that PH is so "beautiful". Hmm, I think that too many people get influenced with the media's "interpretation" and "perception" of what beauty is. Perhaps PH is just open minded and doesn't give into cultural norms of what beauty truly is.

maryshawn stated the following:

"She's 30, gorgeous, smart, brought up and certainly influenced by a western stepmother......"

LOL is this an implication that marrying old men is a 100% traditional Muslim non-western thing? LOL The last time I checked, I read in the book Gone with the Wind that Scarlett O'Hara's mother married a very old man (it was a cultural norm a few centuries for WESTERN countries and in certain European countries around the world it still is). Who else, Katharine Zeta Jones, Mina Suvari and oh yes even Anna Nicole Smith all hitched up with much older men. Calista Flockhart and Harrision Ford are/were another item (Harrison's about thirty years older than Calista). Warren Beaty is much much older than his wife Anette Benning. Secondly, you yourself stated that PH was influenced by QR, "her Western stepmother" who btw herself married an older man so the argument doesn't 100% make sense. Anyway, as far as older men marrying younger women goes, atleast from a religious point of view, the prophet Muhammad's first wife was fifteen years HIS SENIOR.

As for carlota's statement:

"do you think she'll dress as rania? or is dubai a more conservative country than jordan? maybe she will have to wear her burka always..."

I believe that Dubai is a so-called "modern" country according to a friend of mine who actually lives there (probably a traditional country at the same time though), but I believe that if she does have to cover up, she'll probably only partially cover her hair (I saw a picture of Sheikha Hind, SM's other wife wearing hijab-like headwear that was only partially covering her head). But LOL you do realize that some women ACTUALLY LIKE wearing burkas, even though I "personally" believe that covering your whole body isn't an Islamic practice.

Anyway, I don't think that looks and age should be much of an issue. The only thing that I don't agree with is that PH married an already married man because in my opinion, the circumstances didn't quite fit in with the practice. I believe that she probably did do it for hierarchal and caste reasons but again, who am I to judge? Its her life and she can do whatever she wants.

[Layla]

lovy_bear Posted on Apr 18th, 2004 - 4:10 pm
but again, who am I to judge? Its her life and she can do whatever she wants. 

lovy_bear,
Nicely written, but I particularly like the part that has been quoted. I believe it is high time that we stopped analysing the reasons and rationalising why PH and SM have gotten married.

[lovy_bear]

Hi Layla,

Thank you and yes I agree.

[Humera]

well said layla and lovy bear.
You dont have to know much about Haya to figure out that she's an extremely independant young woman. Im sure that her decision to marry must've have come after a lot of thought and consideration. So what if she has to dress a little more conservatively, she certainly doesn't seem to mind. Its not like she's shut up in a palace in the desert somewhere. From the recent pictures we've seen, she's still indulging in her love of sports, promoting arab women athletes. Appearances and age aren't the most important things and I dont think she's so shallow anyway.

[Humera]

Originally posted by carlota@Apr 18th, 2004 - 2:12 pm
poor girl... he is so old and she is so preetty and young... :(

do you think she'll dress as rania? or is dubai a more conservative country than jordan? maybe she will have to wear her burka always...

Just wanted to make a little correction if you dont mind.
The dress Haya's wearing is not called a burka.
As far as im concerned, it may not be what Rania wears but its still just as pretty.

[Jacqueline]

Originally posted by Fireweaver@Apr 18th, 2004 - 8:57 pm
she has a emerald tiara (it's imo not very good looking) and a necklace that converts to a tiara (diamond). It's not quite as impressive as Haya's, but it's not bad.

I suppose that Rania could borrow from someone else. Do any of Abdullah's sisters have tiaras? She may have to borrow from them. I definitely don't see Haya's tiara traveling between Jordan, Dubai and wherever else it may go for official functions.

[SemiPatriot83]

Ewww.. Why did she marry him? I guess like someone said before, she is searching for a father figure and he is old enough to be her father. Poor Girl:(

[Fireweaver]

Well, they have things in common, love of horses, both are royal.
They also seem to enjoy each other's company. Why not marry?

[Fireweaver]

hey guys, just to let you know, the tiara discussion was moved to the Royal Jewels forum under the Queen Raina thread. Feel free to discuss the tiara ramificatons there.

[Bluebelle]

Originally posted by mya@Apr 17th, 2004 - 12:42 pm
what does it mean for the first wife? .........hmmmm less sex. Damn I hate that...hehehehehe

I'm sure Haya will want the lights to be off every time daddy wants to play with her.

God help her

[Fireweaver]

I think that's enough talk about their sex life.

[Jacqueline]

Hi everyone.

Here is an interesting article from The IHT that some of you may find to be interesting. I thought that I would post it here due to Princess Haya's marriage to Sheikh Mohammed.

International Herald Tribune

[alia_musallam]

But it has nothing to do with either him or her except that Dubai has made more money from tourism than oil... if you're going to post articles, at least make sure they are relevant to the topic.

[Jacqueline]

Originally posted by alia_musallam@Apr 20th, 2004 - 9:35 pm
But it has nothing to do with either him or her except that Dubai has made more money from tourism than oil... if you're going to post articles, at least make sure they are relevant to the topic.

I am an Administrator on this board, therefore I do not need for anyone to tell me what to post.

The article was posted in this thread because of the mention of women in Dubai and the variation of their style and demeanor within was is said to be a very conservative Muslim nation. Being that part of the discussion about Haya's marriage involved questions about her dress and whether or not she will wear traditional or Western clothing it was posted here as a point of interest. It was also posted as a point of information about Dubai which is the country to be Haya's new home. An article need not mention Haya or Sheikh Mohammed directly to be completely relevant. It may be relevant or of interest simply for its background information. This article contains information and facts about Dubai, a monarchy, thus royalty related. Dubai is also the country that has a Crown Prince whom has just married a Princess of Jordan. Both individuals are discussed in this thread.

If you or anyone else is not interesed feel free to disregard the post. However, there is to be no scolding here of anyone. It is for the Administrators and the Moderators of LTR to decide what posts are to be removed and considered to be off topic or deemed to be relevant.

[Balqis]

Scolding or just making an observation? There is a difference.

[Sean.~]

:flower: Just curious, has it actually been made public as to where Haya will live full time -- ie Dubai, Jordan, or Europe? I guess place of residency would would have been stipulated in the marriage contract.

Thanks,

Sean