Queen Rania Of Jordan

IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW TO MARK HER 49 TH BIRTHDAY QUEEN RANIA OF JORDAN ON BEING INSPIRED BY HER FAMILY AND WHY SHE WILL CONTINUE TO DO MORE TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE

- Sally Morgan

With her grace, elegance, compassion, and beauty, Queen Rania of Jordan is a shining light in her drive for global change.

To her 10.5 million followers on Twitter, she is: “A mum and a wife with a really cool day job,” yet this is a modest understatement from one of the most influential women on the planet.

As well as being the wife of King Abdullah II and a mother to four children aged between 14 and 25, Rania is a passionate humanitarian who has embraced her role since becoming Queen two decades ago, using her position to promote tolerance, acceptance and the importance of education for girls and young people and to speak out against child abuse and social injustice.

She is also a committed advocate for refugees. Alongside her tender family pictures on Instagram are images of her comforting grieving women and children displaced by the ravages of war.

In contrast to affluent countries turning away refugees, Jordan, a kingdom surrounded by wartorn Syria, Iraq, Israel, and Palestine, opened its borders to those seeking solace after risking their lives to escape a fate far worse.

“My pride in Jordanians’ response to the massive influx of refugees into our country is immeasurable,” Queen Rania says, in an exclusive interview with HELLO!.

In contrast, she is disappointed by the response of other nations to the crisis, saying: “I don’t think anyone can deny that the global response has been severely lacking.”

SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE

Born Rania Al Yassin, the Queen was brought up in a Palestinian family living in Kuwait. During the Gulf War in 1991, however, they were forced to flee, along with thousands of other Palestinians. They found a safe haven in the Jordanian capital Amman.