Royal Profile: Princess Alia bint Al Hussein of Jordan

Princess Alia bint Al-Hussein of Jordan was born 13 February 1956 as the first child of King Hussein of Jordan and his first wife, Sharifa Dina bint'Abdu'l-Hamid. She has the following half younger siblings and nieces and nephews:

1. King Abdullah II of Jordan
1. Queen Rania of Jordan
1. Crown Prince Hussein (1994)
2. Princess Iman (1996)
3. Princess Salma (2000)
4. Prince Hashem (2005)
2. Prince Faisal bin Al-Hussein of Jordan (1963)
1. Princess Alia Tabbaa of Jordan (m. 1989-2008)
1. Princess Ayah bint al-Faisal of Jordan (1990)
2. Prince Omar bint al-Faisal of Jordan (1993)
3. Princess Sara bint al-Faisal of Jordan (1997) 
4. Princess Aisha bint al-Faisal of Jordan (1997) 
2. Princess Sara of Jordan (m 2010-2013)
3. Princess Zeina of Jordan (m. 2015)
1. Prince Abdullah bin Faisal (2016)
2. Prince Muhammad bin Faisal (2017)
3. Princess Aisha bint Hussein of Jordan (1968)
1. Mr. Zeid Juma (divorced)
1. Master Aoun Juma 
2. Miss Muna Juma
4. Princess Zein bint Hussein (1968, twin of above) 
1. Mr. Majdi Al-Saleh
1. Master Jaafar Al-Saleh
2. Miss Jumana Al Saleh
3. Miss Tahani Al Shawan al Saleh (Adopted)

From her father's second marriage to Queen Noor al Hussein (m 1978-1999, his death)

 

1. Prince Hamzah bin al Hussein of Jordan (1980)
1. Princess Noor bint Asem of Jordan (d. 2009)
1. Princess Haya bint al Hamzah (2007)
2. Princess Basmah Bani Ahmad bint al Hamzah (m. 2012)
1. Princess Zein bint Hamzah (2012)
2. Princess Noor bint Hamzah (2014)
3. Princess Badiya bint Hamzah (2016)
4. Princess Nafisa bint Hamzah (2018)
2. Prince Hashim bin Al-Hussein of Jordan (1981)
1. Princess Fahdah (m. 2006)
1. Princess Haalah bint Al Hashim (2007)
2. Princess Rayet bint Al Hashim (2008)
3. Princess Fatima Al-Alia bint Al Hashim (2011)
4. Prince Hussein Haidara bin Hashim (2015)
3. Princess Iman bint al Hussein (1983)
1. Mr. Zaid Azmi Mriza
2. Master Omar Mirza
4. Princess Raiyah bint Hussein (1986)

The young princess was primarily educated in Jordan before she was sent to England. She attended Ahliyyah School for Girls and Rosary College, Amman. She then attended Sibton Park School in England. She spent a year studying at Benenden School (1969-1970) and obtained A Levels in Arabic, English and French from Millfeld School in 1972. She returned to Jordan for university, where she attended the University of Jordan, graduating with honors with a degree in English Literature in 1977.

 

Upon graduation, she has held a variety of positions. First, she worked as a registrar and artist at the British School of Archaeology under Crystal Benett OBE, and has been a member of Fakherelnissa' Zeid's Art Group since the 1980s. In her capacity as director of the Royal Stables of Jordan for the Preservation of the Arabian Horses, Princess Alia initiated the festival of the "Arabian Horse at Home" in 1988 (now a yearly event) and organized the Middle East Championships for Purebred Horses, Jordan. She has also founded the Princess Alia Foundation, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that is under the Ministry of Social Development in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Its stated motto is ""Respect and Compassion towards Creation".

 

She holds numerous honorary positions:

 

• President of the Royal Jordanian Equestrian Federation since 1993
• Honorary President of the Jordanian Philatelic Society
• Honorary President of the Circassian Ladies' Welfare Society
• Honorary President of the Society for the Development and Welfare of Rural Women
• Honorary President of the Jordanian Meningitis Foundation and Caring for the Disabled from Meningitis
• Patron - Brooke Hospital for Animals, UK, Princess Alia Clinic Wadi Musa
• Governor - British Arab Horse Society

She also held a 2 Dan Black Belt Tae Kwondo since 1987.

 

Princess Alia married Mr. Nasser Wasfi Mirza in 1977, together, they have one son:

 

• Prince Hussein Mirza (1981)

 

They divorced after 11 years of marriage in 1988. She married for a second time to Sayyid Mohammed Al-Saleth in 1988. Together, they have the following children:

 

• Talal Al-Saleh (1989)
• Abdul Hamid Al-Saleh (1992)