Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Princess Noal Zaher of Afghanistan prepare for their royal wedding

Prince Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Princess Noal Zaher, granddaughter of King Zaher Shah of Afghanistan, are busy preparing for their impending royal wedding. 

The couple, who announced their engagement on 27 April 2013, are set to tie the knot on 30 August at the Palace of Çirağan on the European shores of the Istanbul Strait in Turkey.

Muhammad and Noal's union is unusual nowadays as the decedants of two royal households rarely marry one another as this was far more common in the past.

 The Egyptian prince 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.

Today Prince Muhammad resides in Paris where he works in real estate and met his princess during a holiday in Istanbul.

From left to right: Prince Muhammad Ali, Noal Zaher's mother, Fatima Aref Begum, Muhammad's father, King Fuad II and Princess Noal Zaher

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 specialising in jewellery design at Webster University in London.

Noal Zaher and her fiancé were joined by members of their family, including a delighted King Fuad II and Noal Zaher's mother, Fatima Aref Begum, for some official portraits to commemorate their engagement.