"For me, it sounds a bit corny, but it was love at first sight," King Abdullah II would later tell correspondent Christiane Amanpour for a CBS "60 Minutes" profile of his wife, Queen Rania Al-Abdullah. During the same interview, Queen Rania recalled it was intimidating that the handsome military man was the son of one of the Middle East's most powerful men. "But in the end, it was really boy meets girl," she said of their attraction.
After a courtship of just two months, King Hussein approached Rania's father on behalf of his son with a formal request for his daughter's hand in marriage. "It was really quite romantic," Queen Rania recalled of the late king's proposal. King Hussein's mother, Queen Zein, is said to have prophetically told Queen Rania she was destined to be "the diamond" in the reigning Hashemite family. Their June 10 wedding was a glittering affair. At the time, Prince Abdullah was not the nation's crown prince. That title was held by King Hussein's brother, Prince Hassan, for years the assumed heir to the throne. Still, as oldest son of King Hussein's 12 children, his marriage was feted as a grand state occasion.
In his biography, "Rootless," Oldfield said he took inspiration for his important commission from formal Syrian dresses he studied at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. He noted Queen Rania's towering wedding up-do was so high she had trouble getting in cars.
Prince Abdullah wore his formal military dress uniform adorned with numerous medals and a ceremonial sword.
Queen Rania had at least five young girls as attendants. They wore puff-sleeve dresses in a peachy gold hue and carried small bouquets of white and yellow flowers tied with yellow bows. Each girl wore a white hairband with flowers fastened at each end. Several young boys, dressed in sailor suits, served as the couple's pages.
The marriage was performed by King Hussein, who, like his now-sovereign son, is considered by tradition to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
The newlyweds then traveled the streets of Amman in an open convertible decorated with flowers and bows as they waved at cheering crowds.
For an evening reception, the couple slipped into less-formal attire. Queen Rania wore a less modest, floor-length white sleeveless gown, also by Oldfield. It featured slender shoulder straps, a V-neck and slight plunge in the back. King Abdullah wore a short white dinner jacket and dark pants.
You can get a glimpse of their more casual party dress here as they dance at their reception.
Their first multitier wedding cake resembled apartment lofts with its elevated rectangular layers embellished with crowns, which the newlyweds cut with a sword.
The royals unexpectedly became Jordan's king and queen following the 1999 death of King Hussein from cancer. In the weeks before his death, King Hussein acted within his powers to decree that succession should transfer from his brother to oldest son.
Queen Rania, now a mother of four, has followed in the footsteps of her step-mother-in-law, American-born Queen Noor, to become a respected international philanthropist. Known for her exceptional style, she is also one of the world's few royals to boast her own YouTube channel and Twitter account.