An advocate for Arab women everywhere, Lisa Halaby became Jordan’s King Hussein’s fourth wife on June 15, 1978. Following her husband’s Feb. 7, 1999 death, Halby continues her efforts, even though the country is officially run by her stepson and his wife.

HRH Prince Rashid bin El Hassan married Princess Zeina, daughter of Mohammed Abdullah Shaban. The wedding took place at Basman Palace, and was attended by Bahraini King Hamad Ben Issa Al Khalifa, Queen Sofia of Spain, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and a number of royal family members and members of the Shaban family.

“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. The couple married in 2004.

The Queen was the guest of honor of a new royal wedding of the Arabian Nights in Amman. Sofia attended with all the Royal Family to lthe wedding of Jordanian Princess Aya, niece of King Abadla with Mohamed Halawani Talal, son of a prominent Jordanian businessman.