Raiyah bint Al-Hussein of Jordan has split from her husband, Ned Donovan. The princess and half-sister of Jordan's King Abdullah II, married Roald Dahl's grandson in July 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. It appears that the couple has been separated for some time, with Donovan marrying his new partner last week.
© Raiyah bint Al-HusseinDonovan, 32, is now married to Megan Tomlin, an American influencer. He was born and raised in London, but has long had connections with the US, with his grandmother living in the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York.
Tomlin shared the news of the couple's engagement on TikTok, showing photos of the engaged couple. "I stare at these photos every day now," she captioned the post, showing herself and her partner smiling for the camera and showing off the engagement ring.
According to The Daily Mail, the couple got married last week at St. Margaret's Church in Babington, Somerset. Guests included his half-sister, Sophie Dahl, and his godfather, Sir Nicholas Coleridge, the new chairman of the King's Foundation and provost of Eton College.
Donovan has been through various life changes over the past few years, prompting some significant change in his lifestyle. His father, Patrick Donovan, died of cancer in 2021. Then in 2024, he was injured while stopping a pickpocket near Parliament. While he used to be a journalist, Donovan is now a police officer in South Carolina.
"Policing and journalism have quite significant similarities," he said in an interview to ABC4 News. "Talking to people who don't want to talk to you, you know, trying to find things out, knocking on doors and going on sorts of places all times of day, just slightly different end results and being able to use those transferable skills, but in a publicly fulfilling role was a fantastic move," he said.
Over the past months, Tomlin has shared videos featuring Donovan, including one where he accompanied her to a Football match in the US. "Showing my English fiancé American football," she wrote. The clip shows him celebrating a touchdown.
Princess Raiyah and Ned Donovan's Royal Wedding in 2020
Princess Raiyah, 40, and Donovan married in 2020 in an outdoor, socially distanced ceremony. Raiyah's mother, Queen Noor, the American-born former queen of Jordan and widow of the late King Hussein, was in attendance.
At the time, Princess Raiyah posted two photos on her account on X. One showed her sitting behind her husband as he signed the marriage certificate.
© Raiyah bint Al-HusseinThe other showed the couple standing on a stone terrace overlooking a lush garden, cheering with their guests. Raiyah's wedding dress was an embroidered, high-necked gown, which she paired with a beaded headpiece.
The wedding had originally been planned for April 2020 and was to be hosted in Jordan, but the date and location were changed due to the pandemic. At the time, she wrote, "Thank you all for your kind messages about our wedding!"
Princess Raiyah's Impressive Academic Background
Princess Raiyah has spent much of her life pursuing her studies. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Edinburgh, then went on to get a master's in Japanese literature from Columbia University in New York. She later completed a PhD in premodern Japanese literature at UCLA.
Her speciality is "The reception of medieval warrior narratives in Japan and the Arab World and their impact upon the construction of national identities," as reported by Tatler.
© AFP via Getty ImagesWhen she was younger, the Princess began her studies at the UWC Atlantic College in Wales, where other figures in the royal world have also studied, including two of the future queens of Europe: Princess Leonor and Princess Elisabeth.
Donovan used to be a freelance correspondent for outlets like The Daily Mail, The Times, and Tatler. He studied archeology and spent parts of his career in the Middle East and India, covering the news of the region. It's unknown how the two met, but it was likely when he was abroad.
He is the son of writer Tessa Dahl and Patrick Donovan. He's the grandson of the revered children's author Roald Dahl, who wrote books like "Matilda," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and more.
The couple got engaged in October 2019, and Jordan's Royal Hashemite Court announced it in November. It's unknown why they got divorced, but they never had children.
© Getty Images
