Rikissa of Arendaal, Sultana of Hajr

Sultana Rukayyah born Princess Rikissa of Arendaal (b. 1960) is a Princess of the Kingdom of Arendaal, and Sultana of Hajr by marriage as the first wife of Sultan Huseyn ibn Saad of Hajr. She is the daughter of the late King Sven V of Arendaal and his Queen, Agneta of Suionia, and thus the younger sister of the current Aren Monarch, King Edvard V of Arendaal. The dramatic circumstances surrounding her marriage in 1979 provoked ferocious controversy which continues to resonate today and strain relations between the Royal Houses of Nareath and Al Taimur.

Born Rikissa Adela, she was raised and educated in Emyn Arnen along with her siblings, the future King Edvard V, Lena, Archduchess of Saxony and Prince Varik, Grand Duke of Uberwald. She is described as having been stubborn and impulsive in her youth and "too proud for her own good". She has also been considered exceptionally beautiful throughout her life, repeatedly named the "most beautiful woman in Europe" by fashion magazines. Rikissa was only 18 years old when she met Huseyn (only two years before her parents died in a tragic skiing accident in Skaneland). Their whirlwind romance was seen favourably by her father until the couple suddenly eloped.

In 1979 once Rikissa and Huseyn eloped, she converted to Islam and was renamed Rukayyah. Reports soon emerged that the conversion had been forced, generating public outrage across Arendaal. King Sven V even threatened briefly to cut off diplomatic ties with Hajr. He stripped her of her title as "Grand Duchess of Norse Lorraine". In 1985 Rikissa's brother, King Edvard V, granted her the ceremonial title of "Grand Duchess of Auxerre", marking the a kind of reconciliation btween Rikissa and her family. Popular outcries in Arendaal against Rikissa's perceived maltreatment routinely resurfaced over the following years as Sultan Huseyn married another three women and continues to maintain a harem of several thousand concubines. There remains great hostility between Rikissa and Suntan Huseyn's second wife, Kawthar, mother of Hajr's Crown Prince. Rumours of Rukayyah's ensuing unhappiness continue to abound, turning her into a tragic heroine figure for Aren and other European tabloids. Defiantly, the Aren press and Royal family only ever refer to her as Rikissa, pointedly ignoring her change of name.

Marriage and Family
Princess Rikissa married Sultan Huseyn of Hajr in 1979, at the age of 18, at which time her name was changed to Rukayyah. Their children include:
 * 

Siblings

 * King Edvard V of Arendaal (b. 1958)- brother, King of Arendaal
 * Varik, Prince of Arendaal (b. 1959) - brother, Grand Duke of Uberwald (d. 2003)
 * Lena, Archduchess of Saxony (b. 1963) - sister, Archduchess by marriage of Saxony (Wiese)

Other Royal Relations

 * Queen Laura von Franken of Arendaal - sister-in-law
 * Archduke Franz of Saxony - brother-in-law
 * Crown Prince Soren of Arendaal - nephew
 * Katarina of Arendaal, Queen of Montelimar - niece
 * Princess Sophia of Arendaal - niece
 * Princess Iselin of Arendaal - niece
 * Princess Kristianna of Arendaal - niece
 * Princess Svea of Arendaal - niece
 * Princess Evelina of Arendaal - niece
 * Princess Isabelle of Arendaal - niece
 * Princess Adeliza of Arendaal - niece
 * Archduchess Eleonore of Saxony - niece
 * Archduke Maximilian of Saxony - nephew
 * Marie of Arendaal, Empress of the Talemantine Empire - aunt (father's sister). Wife of Emperor Waylon X of the Talemantine Empire
 * Alienora of Arendaal, Queen of Eiffelland - aunt (father's sister). Wife of King Heinrich IV von Dietz-Hadamar of Eiffelland
 * Helena of Arendaal, Queen of Great Engellex - aunt (father's sister). Wife of Edward II of Great Engellex
 * Eliska of Arendaal, Queen of Cambria - aunt. Consort of King Owain IV of Cambria
 * Elisa von Nareath, Princess of the Talemantrine Empire - second cousin. Consort of Prince Cecilio of the Talemantine Empire
 * Prince Cecilio of the Talemantine Empire - first cousin
 * King Alfred IV of Franken - sister-in-law's brother (brother of Edvard's wife, Queen Laura)
 * King Armand Philippe of Montelimar - nephew-in-law (husband of King Edvard's daughter Katarina)
 * Emperor Friedrich Wilhelm II of Wiese - grand uncle and grandfather-in-law
 * Emperor Waylon X of the Talemantine Empire - uncle by marriage
 * King Heinrich IV von Dietz-Hadamar of Eiffelland - uncle by marriage
 * Madeleine of Arendaal, Empress of Wiese - great-great-aunt

Ancestors
's ancestors in four generations:

* King Louis X of Montelimar's mother was Alexandra of Arendaal, Queen of Montelimar * King Alfred III of Franken's mother was Isabelle of Arendaal, Queen of Franken