Jordan royals celebrate wedding

Prince Hamzah's bride is also a member the Hashemite royal house

Crown Prince Hamzah of Jordan and his bride have celebrated their wedding at a state reception attended by many international dignitaries in Amman.

Half-brother of King Abdullah and a favourite of the late King Hussein, he wed Princess Noor privately last year.

Hundreds lined the streets cheering as the couple were driven to the Zahran Palace in a 1961 Lincoln Continental that belonged to the late king.

The princess is the prince's cousin and granddaughter of a rival to the throne.

The royal car was surrounded by two dozen red Jeeps and motorcycle outriders with sirens sounding. Surrounding streets were sealed off, causing traffic jams.

The crown prince is not in a very festive mood because of the situations in Iraq and Palestine Palace official

King Hussein married Queen Noor at Zahran Palace in 1978. The cream-coloured Lincoln is traditionally brought out of the Royal Car Museum for ceremonial events including King Abdullah II's and King Hussein's marriages.

But in a departure from Jordanian tradition, the couple did not tour the streets of Amman.

"The crown prince is not in a very festive mood because of the situations in Iraq and Palestine, so this will be a formal affair to meet his guests, both Jordanian and foreigners," a court official was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

Palace ceremony

The couple crossed a wooden bridge built over a small pond at the palace and walked under an arch of swords formed by 14 army officers before cutting the triple-decker cake.

Afterwards, they shook hands with thousands of guests.

The motorcade did not tour Amman, as in past weddings

The list included Spain's Queen Sophia and royal newlyweds Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia, Egyptian first lady Suzanne Mubarak, Farah Diba, widow of the deposed Shah of Iran, and the Duke of York.

Royal representatives from Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Brunei, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Guests were served mansaf, a popular local dish of rice and lamb eaten with the right hand, followed by the traditional kanafeh desert.

On Friday, the couple reportedly planned a private dinner in the Red Sea resort of Aqaba.

A graduate of the UK's Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Prince Hamzah is a captain in the Jordanian armed forces.

Princess Noor is the youngest daughter of Prince Asem bin Nayef, a cousin of King Hussein. Prince Nayef, Asem's father, lived in exile in Spain after allegedly trying to take the throne instead of Hussein's father, Talal.