Meet Queen Rania's Kids: A Look at Jordan's Royal Family
Jun. 1 2023, Published 1:28 p.m. ET
The wedding of Jordan's crown prince Hussein bin Abdullah and Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif captured headlines in June 2023, but 30 years ago that same month, the prince's parents — King Abdullah II and Queen Rania — married in a much-publicized wedding of their own.
At the time, the king was still a prince, and his soon-to-be wife was working as a marketing executive. In 1999, the two ascended the throne to become king and queen.
Along the way, they had four children. Below, we take a look at the royal family of Jordan, also known as the Hashemites.
Queen Rania and King Abdullah II
Who are Queen Rania's children?
Queen Rania and King Abdullah II have welcomed four kids together over the years.
Their eldest, Prince Hussein — who is currently the crown prince of Jordan as well as a captain in the Jordanian Armed Forces — was born on June 28, 1994. He graduated from Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England, and in 2016 he got his degree in international history from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. As previously mentioned, he married Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif in June 2023.
Crown Prince Hussein
Next came eldest daughter Princess Iman, who was born on Sept. 27, 1996. A talented equestrian, she enrolled at Georgetown University like her older brother, though she eventually transferred and graduated from Parsons School of Design in New York. In March 2023, she married Jameel Alexander "Jimmy" Thermiótis, a Venezuela-born businessman of Greek descent. His original name was Dimitrios, but he changed his name and converted to Islam in order to marry Iman.
Princess Iman and her husband
Princess Salma followed on Sept. 26, 2000. She graduated from Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst like her older brother, and in 2020 she became "the first woman in her country to pass her theoretical and practical pilot training with the Jordanian Armed Forces," reported Al Jazeera. She later graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's in archeology.
Princess Salma graduates from USC.
The youngest in the family, Prince Hashem, was born on Jan. 30, 2005. He graduated from King's Academy, a boarding school in Jordan, in May 2023. He was also reportedly commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Jordanian Armed Forces in 2021.
Prince Hashem celebrates graduation from boarding school.
After her and King Abdullah II's youngest child was born, Queen Rania talked to Hello! magazine in 2005 about motherhood:
"You would think that I would be more confident and unperturbed by the whole thing by the fourth time around, but I’m not. In fact, in many ways it feels like he is my first baby and I still find myself nervous and fumbling at times. I’m certainly no less tired than I was with my other children. And the disarray and disruption to daily life that a newborn inevitably brings still requires a lot of organization."
She added: "Thankfully, experience has taught me to be kinder to myself. I see a lot of young women these days trying to lose all the weight, resume work and get back to ‘normal’ life soon after their baby is born and I always think, 'What’s the rush?' Everything will happen in due course. Setting high expectations can result in the burden of unwarranted stress and missing out on the little joys that come with a baby."
