1970-present
Latest News: Queen Rania Accuses Western Leaders of “Glaring Double Standard” in Israel-Hamas Conflict
Queen Rania of Jordan, whose parents are Palestinian, criticized Western leaders for failing to condemn the deaths of civilians in Gaza during the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. In an interview with CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour, Rania said world leaders have shown a “glaring double standard” regarding Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 people, according to estimates. Israel subsequently declared a siege of Gaza, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza estimates more than 5,000 people—including more than 2,000 children—have died from Israeli strikes.
“This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering, and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire. So the silence is deafening—and to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit,” the queen said. “As a mom, we’ve seen Palestinian mothers who have to write the names of their children on their hands—because the chances of them being shelled to death, of their bodies turning into corpses are so high.”
Who Is Queen Rania?
Born in Kuwait and forced to flee during the first Gulf War in 1991, Queen Rania’s early life was much like that of thousands of other Palestinians. In 1993, she met Prince Abdullah II bin al-Hussein of Jordan at a party, and the two were married six months later. Rania is a strong progressive female voice in the Arab world and a powerful global advocate for education, health, and women’s rights.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Rania al-Abdullah
BORN: August 31, 1970
BIRTHPLACE: Kuwait City, Kuwait
SPOUSE: King Abdullah II (1993-present)
CHILDREN: Hussein, Iman, Salma, and Hashem
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Virgo
Early Life
Born Rania Al Yassin on August 31, 1970, in Kuwait City to Palestinian parents, Rania and her two siblings were raised in the West Bank town of Tulkarm, where her father was a physician. She was educated at the New English School in Kuwait City before enrolling at the American University in Cairo. She received a degree in business administration in 1991.
During the first Gulf War of 1991, Rania’s family was forced to flee from Kuwait along with thousands of other Palestinian families. They resettled in Amman, Jordan, where Rania joined them after completing her university studies. After a brief stint working in marketing at Citibank, Rania accepted another marketing job at Apple’s office in Amman.
Wedding to Prince Abdullah II
In January 1993, Rania accompanied an Apple coworker to a dinner party being thrown by the sister of Prince Abdullah II bin al-Hussein of Jordan, who was also at the party. In an unlikely plot twist that sounded like something out of a movie, the common-born young woman and the prince fell instantly and deeply in love. Rania and Prince Abdullah were engaged just two months after their meeting. Then, in June 1993, less than six months after their first encounter, the couple married.
Becoming Queen of Jordan
Prince Abdullah never expected to ascend to the throne, as his uncle had long been slated to become king of Jordan upon the death of King Hussein bin Talal, who had ruled the country since 1952. However, from his deathbed in 1999, King Hussein unexpectedly named his son, Prince Abdullah, as his successor. When Hussein died on February 7, 1999, Abdullah became king of Jordan.
Six weeks later, King Abdullah officially elevated his then 28-year-old wife to the status of queen. Announcing her coronation over state television, King Abdullah declared that his wife’s non-royal origins made her better connected to “the hopes and outlooks of people” because she “truly believes in their causes.”
Children
Queen Rania and King Abdullah have four children: Crown Prince Hussein, born June 28, 1994; Princess Iman, born September 27, 1996; Princess Salma, born September 26, 2000; and Prince Hashem, born January 30, 2005.
Crown Prince Hussein was appointed heir to the throne in July 2009 and married Rajwa Al Hussein in June 2023.
Advocacy Work
Rania’s youth, royal status, and glamorous beauty instantly has made her something of an international icon. The queen has been photographed at fashion shows and high-society social events, usually mingling with a beautiful coterie of the global elite. Through it all, however, Queen Rania remained remarkably grounded, using her position to advocate for a variety of causes she believes to be important.
A progressive female voice in the Arab world, Queen Rania has become a powerful advocate for reform in education and public health, the development of a sustainable tourism industry in Jordan, youth empowerment, and crosscultural dialogue between the West and the Arab world. Perhaps most notably, she has been an outspoken opponent of the traditional practice of “honor killings,” the murder of women by members of their own family for perceived violations of Islamic moral code.
Rania’s Global Platform
Queen Rania eventually turned to technology to advocate for her causes and to help dispel Western stereotypes about the supposed backwardness of the Middle East. In March 2008, she created her own YouTube channel aimed at engaging Western viewers in a discussion about their perceptions of the Arab world. Her first video post was viewed some 1.4 million times within days of its release. Queen Rania also has a Facebook page, an active Instagram account, her own website, and around 10 million followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, where she describes herself as “a mum and a wife with a really cool day job.”
For Queen Rania, part of that job involves sharing her own expertise to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship, and an understanding of technology, particularly among Jordanian youth. Working with the Jordanian Ministry of Education, she has established numerous initiatives to achieve these goals in the country, while also taking a wider approach to advocate for education for young people around the world. Among these international endeavors are 1GOAL, the Global Campaign for Education, and the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative, for which she serves as the honorary chair. She has also worked with the UN on its sustainable development goals and with UNICEF in its efforts to provide aid to the children of the world.
Yet despite these achievements and lofty goals, she has remained characteristically humble: “I just wake up and feel like a regular person,” Queen Rania writes on her site. “At the end of the day you are living your life for the people that you represent. It’s an honour and a privilege to have that chance to make a difference—a qualitative difference in people’s lives—and it’s my responsibility to make the most out of that opportunity.”
Awards, Honors, and Books
Queen Rania has received numerous honorary degrees and humanitarian awards for her work, including an honorary doctorate in Science Development and International Cooperation from Sapienza University, Italy; the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award; and the YouTube Visionary Award, to name just a few. In 2010, she was named Glamour magazine’s Woman of the Year and, in 2011, the most beautiful first lady by Harper’s Bazaar.
Queen Rania has also published a number of children’s books inspired by her own experiences as a child, including the New York Times best seller The Sandwich Swap, Eternal Beauty, Maha of the Mountains, and The King’s Gift.
Queen Rania Net Worth
Queen Rania’s net worth is estimated around $35 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
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Tyler Piccotti first joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor in February 2023, and before that worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. He is a graduate of Syracuse University. When he's not writing and researching his next story, you can find him at the nearest amusement park, catching the latest movie, or cheering on his favorite sports teams.
