rivalry in Jordan
The frigid relationship between Queen Rania and Queen Noor
Queen Noor and Queen Rania
© Tim Graham Photo Library / Getty Images
Former Queen Noor of Jordan celebrated her 71st birthday on August 23, 2022. Did she also spend her special day with Queen Rania? The two women are said to have been far from understanding each other for years.
Queen Rania of Jordan, 51, is not the first woman to have a bad relationship with her mother-in-law. But there never really was a spark between the reigning queen and Noor al-Hussein, 71. “The relationship was frosty from the start,” wrote the French magazine “Point de Vue” in September 2020 about the women who still share the title “Queen of Jordan”. Noor was allowed to keep this form of address even after her husband’s death.
Queen Rania never warmed to “mother-in-law” Noor
However, the dispute between Rania and Noor got its public start at Rania’s wedding to King Abdullah II bin al-Hussein, 61, on June 10, 1993. As the fourth wife of King Hussein I, † 63, Noor was of course invited to the wedding , but when the official photos were taken with the whole family, the then-Queen was not included. This angered Noor beyond measure – and still does to this day.
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Since then, the rivalry between the two women is no longer a secret. Six years after their marriage, Rania took her “mother-in-law’s” place on the throne, further aggravating the situation. The widow had to take on a new role that was far less prestigious and less media-savvy.
Queen Noor: Her son’s coup attempt worsened relationship with the royal couple
In 2021, tensions between Noor and the Jordanian royal couple finally reached their peak. Noor’s son Prince Hamzah, 42, attempted a coup and was charged with “conspiracy” and “destabilizing the kingdom”. The 42-year-old, who was finally placed under house arrest in May last year, vehemently denies a coup and has been vigorously defended by his mother online ever since.
Noor’s unstable position in the kingdom was further weakened by her son’s failed coup attempt. The ex-queen is now no longer entirely in Jordan, but commutes between Washington and London.
So the same and yet so different
Although both Rania and Noor hail from the western system, they are entirely different. As queens, they are very popular with the Jordanian people and embody a modern attitude with their previous experience and successful studies – a great commonality. But maybe it’s their extreme ambition that has prevented a harmonious bond so far.
Because although Noor gave birth to four children during her reign, it is very likely that none of them will ever rule. King Hussein I was already the father of four daughters and three sons when he married the American in 1978.
Sources used: pointdevue.fr, gala.fr