Queen Rania Of Jordan's Incredibly Lavish Life

Some little girls grow up dreaming of becoming princesses. But the former Rania Al-Yassin — now Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan — wasn't one of them. Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents (per Biography), she seemed to have every intention of making her mark on the world as a modern, independent woman, earning a business degree before working in marketing at Citibank and later Apple.

It was her gig at Apple that unexpectedly spun Rania into the royal orbit. When an Apple coworker invited her to a party hosted by the sister of then-Prince Abdullah of Jordan, she and the prince fell for each other hard. Within two months of their first chance meeting, they were engaged, and they married soon after that. As if that wasn't a dizzying enough turn of events, an unexpected bit of palace intrigue would soon cast an even bigger spotlight on the couple. 

In 1999, from his deathbed, King Hussein bin Talal unexpectedly named Prince Abdullah as his successor, rather than the king's brother, who had been expected to take the throne. The newly crowned King Abdullah II soon elevated his wife to queen. Promoting his wife's common origins as a plus, he explained that because she could personally relate to her subjects' lives, she "truly believes in their causes" (per Biography). While Queen Rania's public persona emphasizes her philanthropic work (per her website), she's still a queen — with all the jaw-dropping perks that royal life entails.

Members of royal families understand that their primary responsibility is to serve as spokespeople for and symbols of their countries. Thus, even those who wield little or no political power themselves are often called to visit foreign leaders to nurture longstanding relationships between their countries or promote common interests. This often involves meeting and working with other royals — and sometimes meeting the same ones repeatedly over the years.

Upon marrying into Jordan's royal family, Queen Rania threw herself into her new duties. And among the many high-profile royals she's gotten to know is Queen Consort Camilla. In 2021, then-Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, made Jordan the destination of their first post-pandemic overseas trip. Per People, while Prince Charles focused his discussions in Jordan on climate change and women's rights, Queen Rania echoed these themes by driving the Duchess of Cornwall to visit a center for families and children in her Tesla. And in 2022, Queen Rania visited Buckingham Palace at the invitation of Queen Camilla to take part in a reception to raise awareness of violence against women, per Queen Rania's website.

Jordan's royal family has close ties to Britain and to the British royal family. Per Britannica, King Abdullah II not only graduated from the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst (where Prince Harry and Prince William studied), but he also served in Britain's military as well as Jordan's. And per the archived Prince of Wales website, King Charles has made multiple official visits to Jordan over the years.

Because of these longstanding ties, Queen Rania has gotten to know several members of Britain's royal family. Having been thrust unexpectedly into her royal role, she saw the late Queen Elizabeth as a role model. "She's someone we all really highly regard and she's someone I look up to personally," she told ITV News. "We can all just hope to be as active as she is at that age." 

Deeply aware of the potential impacts of climate change on her country, Queen Rania added that she's grown to admire King Charles' longstanding commitment to building awareness about environmental issues. "I think he's a leading figure in the fight for our planet," she said. To help promote his work, Queen Rania serves on the governing council for The Earthshot Prize, a global environmental prize and initiative founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation to promote innovations that will heal the planet (per her website).

In addition to building relationships with other royals, Queen Rania is also an important strategic ally to the U.S. (per The Hill), and Queen Rania and her husband, King Abdullah, have also made multiple visits to the White House, which gave them the opportunity to meet with several presidents. A vocal advocate for building bonds between the Middle East and the west (per Biography), Queen Rania met with then-First Lady Laura Bush in 2001 to discuss humanitarian measures to rebuild these bonds following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Per Emirates Woman, she became fond of Michelle Obama and posted an affectionate tribute to her on Instagram as the Obamas prepared to leave the White House.

King Abdullah and Queen Rania also visited the Trump White House twice, in 2017 and 2018 (per People), and during the couples' 2018 White House visit, Queen Rania and Melania Trump raised eyebrows by both showing up (coincidentally) in pale pink ensembles — Melania in a cap-sleeved leather dress, Queen Rania in a flowing top and wide-legged matching trousers (per The National). The couple returned again in 2021, this time to meet President Joe and Jill Biden for the first time.

One of the perks of being a queen is the opportunity to live and work in a luxurious royal residence — and the sprawling historic structure that Jordan's King Abdullah and Queen Rania call home is exactly what you'd imagine a Middle Eastern royal residence to be. The palace was built in 1927 for Prince Abdullah bin Al Hussein, who named the structure Raghadan (based on the Arabic word raghad, meaning a decent life, according to the website of The Royal Hashemite Court).

Over the years, the palace has not only served as a home for Jordan's royal family, but also as the site of high-profile state meetings and cultural events. Foreign dignitaries and other visitors to the palace — especially those with an appreciation for traditional Islamic art and design — are in for a treat. The structure incorporates traditional arched windows and carved columns, elaborate wood carvings, and stained-glass windows modeled after those of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, according to Express. While Queen Rania and her family no longer live in Raghadan Palace full-time, she still has her official offices on the palace compound.

Queen Rania never set out to be a queen or a celebrity. But once thrust into the royal limelight, she seemed to take to it naturally. Her good looks and striking sense of style turned her into an instant celebrity (per Biography), and avid people-watchers began keeping tabs on her every fashion choice.

Over time, fashion enthusiasts began to notice a few patterns in Queen Rania's fashion strategy. As noted by Town & Country, she tends to lean toward monochromatic outfits with occasional accents in other colors (for instance, when meeting Queen Silvia of Sweden in November 2022, she wore a long, pleated purple gown cinched with a black belt with a dramatic green stone brooch). She also doesn't shy away from heels: British Vogue shows numerous photos of Queen Rania in stiletto heels, often making her appear taller than her husband.

While it's obvious that Queen Rania enjoys fashion and has established herself as a style icon, she never wanted her appearance to define her. Besides her family, she told Oprah, her first responsibility is to her country. "There are also the six million people in my country that I have to think about, and I have to think about the issues of our country and everything that faces us," she said. Among the areas that concern her, she told Oprah, is narrowing the divide between the Middle East and the west.

Queen Rania has used her love of fashion as a way to share her culture with the world. She frequently wears traditional Middle Eastern dresses to high-profile formal events (such as this white jalabiya with pink accents that she wore to celebrate Jordan's 76^th year of independence), as well as pieces by Middle Eastern designers. As reported by Emirates Woman, during her visit to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, she wore a white shirt custom-made for her by the Beirut-based design house Azzi & Osta. During her visit to Istanbul a short time later, Queen Rania wore a black-and-red dress by Iraqi designer Raghda Tapponi. It's impossible to confirm whether she chose these designers simply because she likes them or because she wants to celebrate her region's culture and creativity — but in either case, she's shining a bright light on talent close to home.

Looking at Queen Rania's website, you'd have no idea she was a millionaire many times over. Instead, you'll find copious information on her work advocating for child welfare and education, women's rights, technological innovation, and international cooperation and culture understanding, along with information about the many high-profile boards she serves on and books she's written. During her interviews — even with glamour-forward publications such as Condé Nast Traveler — she studiously keeps the focus on her philanthropic initiatives rather than on her lifestyle.

But numbers don't lie, and it's clear even to casual observers that Queen Rania's fabulous wardrobe doesn't come cheap. Marrying into a royal family definitely has its perks, and among them is access to plenty of cash. Her husband, King Abdullah II, is thought to have a net worth of $750 million (per Celebrity Net Worth), and his father, the late King Hussein, was known for his lavish lifestyle and his collection of sports cars, according to The Guardian. And while King Abdullah intentionally keeps a lower profile than his father — in part out of respect for his country's economic challenges, according to The Guardian – neither he nor Queen Rania is living a life of austerity. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Queen Rania herself is thought to have a net worth of about $35 million.

When a woman accepts an engagement ring, she knows she's about to embark on a new and different stage of her life. But when Rania Al Yassin accepted her engagement ring from then-Prince Abdullah of Jordan, one look probably made her realize that the next stage of her life would be very, very different from her old life as a junior marketing executive.

The ring was a showstopper. Per PopSugar, it featured a large, rectangular yellow diamond surrounded by pavé diamonds and set in white gold — not the sort of thing most young professionals could dream of buying for themselves. Per Pricescope, a ring similar to Queen Rania's engagement ring can be purchased for $13,475. It was a ring quite literally fit for a queen – and one that would be a beautiful match for the memorable gown she would wear to her royal wedding. The ring would also prove to be a symbol of an enduring bond. The couple went on to raise four children, two of whom will have their own royal weddings this year, per the New York Post.

No royal wedding would be complete without a high-drama wedding dress. Royal brides know that not just any cute dress will do — it needs to be special enough for a ceremony with world leaders in attendance. And because the bride's choice of dress will no doubt be endlessly scrutinized, it must send the right message about the royal family and the wearer. When Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in 2018, for example, she wore a 16-1/2-foot veil embroidered with the emblematic flowers of the 52 nations of the British Commonwealth along with the state flower of her native California, according to Brides – a symbolic way of embracing her new role as a British royal while honoring her own heritage.

For her wedding dress, Rania Al-Yassin also paid homage to past royal traditions. She chose to have her gown made by Bruce Oldfield, a favorite designer of the late Princess Diana of Wales. In designing this latest royal dress, Oldfield took his inspiration from Middle Eastern royal traditions, basing his design on the formal Syrian court dresses on display at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, according to The National. The dress featured a long, full skirt and a bolero jacket, both embellished with traditional motifs embroidered in gold.

The wedding between then-Prince Abdullah and Rania Al-Yassin was every bit the high-glamour event one would expect of a royal wedding. Their wedding day was declared a national holiday in Jordan, according to Express. The celebration was attended by royals from around the world, and both the bride and groom were dressed to impress — she in a custom-made designer gown by Bruce Oldfield, he in his formal military uniform.

But astute royal watchers noticed one traditional touch was conspicuously absent: Al-Yassin was not wearing the expected royal tiara. As noted by The National, brides marrying into royal families traditionally wear jewelry from their families' collections at their weddings, then switch to pieces from the royal family's collection following the ceremony. A commoner from a middle-class family (per Biography), Al-Yassin did not have a family jewelry collection at her disposal, and while she certainly could have borrowed a tiara from her future in-laws (she had one made for herself several years later), her choice to not wear a tiara showed the world that she wouldn't turn her back on her roots.

While Queen Rania certainly could have afforded a team of nannies to care for her children, she embraced her role as a hands-on mother. "Eighty percent of my life is normal like any other mother. I worry about my children, if they're doing all right. I worry that my husband is doing well," she told Oprah. Her four children are now mostly grown — and two of them, Princess Iman and Crown Prince Hussein, are engaged to be married in the near future (per the New York Post), which means she will soon take on a new role as mother and mother-in-law of the bride.

Queen Rania seems determined to be a supportive mother-in-law. "I didn't think it was possible to hold so much joy in my heart! Congratulations to my eldest Prince Hussein and his beautiful bride-to-be, Rajwa," she wrote on Instagram (per Hello! Magazine). "Excited to welcome my third daughter, Al Hussein's bride-to-be, Rajwa, to the family! We're so happy for you both." Queen Rania didn't limit her support to kind words: She also gifted her future daughter-in-law, Rajwa Khaled bin Musaed bin Saif bin Abdulaziz Al Saif, with a pair of her own earrings, rose gold hoops embellished with 184 round brilliant-cut white diamonds (per Hello!). Al Saif was spotted wearing the earrings at a celebration for Queen Rania's 52^nd birthday.