ROYAL COUTURE.....Wedding of Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Princess Noal Zaher of Afghanistan

Royal Bride and Groom: Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Princess Noal Zaher of Afghanistan--The bride wore an ivory gown with beaded applique and wide scooped neckline and three-quarter sleeves; she finished it off with a very delicate tiara and a tulle veil

A couple of weeks ago, on August 30th, Muhammad Ali Prince of the Sa'id and eldest son of ex-king Fouad II of Egypt wed Princess Noal Zaher, the daughter of Prince Muhammed Daoud Pashtunyar Khan, the youngest son of King Mohammed Zahir Shah. Muhammad (the groom) is sort of the "Crown Prince" of Egypt, if they would bring back the Monarchy, but that's not going to happen any time soon.

Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Princess Noal Zaher of Afghanistan (fourth and fifth from the left) with family members during their wedding, including the Groom's father, King Fouad II of Egypt (with the green sash naturally) and the bride's mother Fatima Aref Begum (third from left)

The Wedding took place in...

Çirağan Palace, a former Ottoman palace that's now a luxury hotel directed by Kempinski in Istanbul where the couple had first met

Engagement Couple: Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Princess Noal Zaher of Afghanistan

Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Princess Noal Zaher of Afghanistan with the Bride's mother, Fatima Aref Begum (far left) and Groom's father, King Farouk II (far right)

The couple announced their engagement back in April. Muhammad and Noal's union is unusual nowadays as the descendants of two royal households rarely marry one another as this was far more common in the past. The groom--Muhammad--was born in Cairo in 1979 and is the eldest son of Fuad II, the last king of Egypt, 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.

Of note: Princess Fawzia (above)--who was the Groom's Aunt and first wife of the Shah of Iran (she became Queen of Iran) passed away last month (she was the senior of the family) and I'm quite shocked that the wedding wasn't postponed in respect to her death, but oh well, as they say...

Today Prince Muhammad resides in Paris where he works in real estate. Princess Noal Zaher was born in 1980 in the Italian capital of Rome and her father is Mohammed Daoud Khan Pachtounyar, the fifth son of the last king of Afghanistan Zahir Shah and his queen, Homeira. Noal Zaher graduated from the famous French university Institut Saint-Dominique with a degree in European Business before specializing in jewellery design at Webster University in London.

More Wedding Pics:

Congratulations to the Happy Royal Couple!