Queen Rania of Jordan Celebrates 54th Birthday After Welcoming Grandchild

As she turns 54 today, Queen Rania of Jordan has much to celebrate.

The glamorous mother-of-four became a grandmother for the first time this month. Her son, Crown Prince Hussein, welcomed daughter Princess Iman with his wife, Crown Princess Rajwa.

Princess Iman, who shares her name with Queen Rania’s 27-year-old daughter, marks the first grandchild for the Queen and her husband, King Abdullah bin Al-Hussein II.

Prince Hussein, 30, announced the birth of his first child on Instagram earlier this month, expressing gratitude to the ‘dedicated’ medical staff who assisted.

Though now known as a stylish queen with a luxurious lifestyle and over 10 million Instagram followers, Rania had humble beginnings in Kuwait.

She was born on August 31, 1970, to Palestinian parents—the doctor Faisal Sedki Al-Yassin and Ilham Yassin. After the Gulf War, her family moved to Amman, Jordan, along with thousands of other Palestinians fleeing Kuwait.

Eventually, they settled in a comfortable home in Tulkarm in the West Bank, near the border with Israel. Rania was educated first at the New English School in Kuwait City and then at the American University in Cairo, where she graduated with a business degree in 1991.

In her early professional career, Rania worked with Citibank, and later took a marketing position with Apple. She met her husband at a dinner party in 1993, and they were engaged just two months later. Five months after their first meeting, they married.

Their lavish wedding took place at the Zahran Palace in Amman, and the day was declared a national holiday. Although tradition dictated that a royal bride must wear family jewels, Rania did not come from a noble lineage with a treasure trove of jewels.

Instead of the expected tiara, she wore an embellished headband attached to her wedding veil, styled around her intricate up-do.

At the time of their marriage, Rania did not know she would become the Queen of Jordan. Her husband’s uncle, Prince Hassan, had been next in line for the throne for decades.

However, on his deathbed in 1999, King Hussein removed Hassan from the line of succession and replaced him with his son Abdullah.

Rania and Abdullah have four children: Crown Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, 27, Princess Salma, 23, and Hashem, 19.

Queen Rania describes herself on Instagram as "a mum and a wife with a really cool day job." She recently posted a photo of her eldest son and his pregnant wife, wishing him a happy birthday.

The expecting couple appeared in high spirits as they posed together in nature. Rajwa was glowing in an off-white dress, her fitted silhouette revealing her blossoming baby bump. Rania expressed her excitement for the new baby, commenting that she "couldn’t wait" to see them as parents.

Apart from preparing for her grandchild, Rania also enjoyed another grand celebration this year—King Abdullah’s silver jubilee in June. She attended the ceremony in a chic white dress and grey corset, accompanied by her husband, son Hussein, and expectant Rajwa.

Source: Daily Mail