Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Princess Noal Zaher, the granddaughter of King Zaher Shah of Afghanistan, have married in a lavish, traditional ceremony in Istanbul.The couple, who announced their engagement in April of this year, tied the knot in front of family and friends at the Palace of Çirağan, on the European shores of the Istanbul Strait in Turkey.The royal wedding was no doubt a high-profile event, with members of both royal families attending.
On the groom's side, King Fuad II, the last reigning monarch of Egypt, and his two other children, Prince Fakhruddin and Princess Fawzia-Latifa posed for family photographs alongside the happy couple and the bride's mother, Fatima Aref Begum.
Princess Noal looked every bit the radiant bride as she walked down the palace steps in an ivory, flowing wedding gown that had an intricate lace overlay and beaded appliqué. She wore a delicate tiara and completed her royal look with sparkling diamond jewellery and a tulle veil.
From the moment the couple met in Istanbul, just over a year ago, Prince Muhammad and Princess Noal were destined to be together. What made their union even more unique was that both the bride and groom came from royal households, compared to previous generations when marrying between royals was common.
Princess Noal was born in 1980 in Rome and her father is Mohammed Daoud Khan Pachtounyar, the fifth son of the last king of Afghanistan Zahir Shah and his queen, Homeira. The bride graduated from the famous French university Institut Saint-Dominique with a degree in European Business before specialising in jewellery design at Webster University in London.
At the time of announcing their engagement, Prince Muhammad and Princess Noal were joined by their family for official commemorative photographs. Their wedding took place on 30 August.
Today Prince Muhammad resides in Paris where he works in real estate and met his princess during a holiday in Istanbul.
The Egyptian prince was born in Cairo in 1979 and is the eldest son of Fuad II, giving him the title of Prince of Sa'id. Muhammad's father only reigned for the first few months of his childhood until the Egyptian Revolution in 1952, although his son remains the heir to the currently abolished Muhammad Ali dynasty.
