The Royal Family of Jordan is not only adored within their own country, but they are also admired and highly respected beyond their borders. The best example of this was recently seen during the official visit the monarchs made to Spain: King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia honored their counterparts, King Abdullah II and his wife, Rania, with all honors for several days. The latter, in particular, caught many flashes, as is usually the case, given her elegance and good taste. Therefore, in this post, we tell you some curiosities about Queen Rania of Jordan that you might not know.
#1. She is of non-Jordanian commoner origin
Like other queens or princess consorts, such as Queen Letizia, Queen Consort of Spain, or Kate Middleton of England, Queen Rania of Jordan is of commoner origin. In fact, she is not Jordanian, but was born into a Kuwaiti family forced to emigrate due to the war conflicts that hit her place of origin, Palestine, at war with Israel.
#2. A very Western education
Despite being born in Kuwait, young Rania studied at the American University of Cairo, receiving a Western-style education and graduating in Business Management. In addition, another forced ‘exile’, this time in the 90s due to the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, led her to work in Amman, specifically for the American multinational Apple.
#3. She does not wear a veil, except to enter the mosque
Another curiosity about Queen Rania of Jordan is that she usually does not wear a veil, except when she must enter a mosque. However, she defends its use and denies that the hijab is an element of oppression for women, as long as it is used out of conviction.
#4. She is a human rights activist…
Rania of Jordan uses her fame and privileged position (Forbes places her among the 100 most influential women in the world) to promote just causes. Specifically, she is an activist for two: the universalization of early childhood education and the abolition of honor crimes (committed against family members, usually women, who are accused of having caused dishonor to the family).
#5. … and a great influencer on social networks
In addition to being influential, Rania of Jordan is also an influencer. That is, she has a great reach on social networks, especially on Instagram, where she has about 10 million followers (as of June 2023). This undoubtedly serves as a megaphone for her social causes, but also to create trends in fashion and style. In the latter, her taste for Western fashion brands and specifically Spanish ones, is well known, as she has shown on other occasions by wearing looks from Zara or Massimo Dutti, among others.
#6. Sincere love… and unexpected throne
Rania of Jordan married the then Prince Abdullah in 1993, whom she met just a few months earlier. Apparently, love quickly blossomed between the two. What was not expected, however, was that this couple would later become king and queen of the country (in 1999). This happened because King Hussein, shortly before dying, directly appointed Abdullah (now Abdullah II) as his successor, ahead of then Crown Prince Hassan (his uncle). After that appointment, Abdullah II officially proclaimed Rania as Queen of Jordan, a mandatory step for her to hold her position as queen consort.
Did you know these curiosities about Queen Rania of Jordan? If you want to know more about the Jordanian Royal Family, you can visit this page. And to know what image they have within the country’s society, nothing better than to organize a trip with our agency.
