Princess Muna Al-Hussein ( ar, منى الحسين, born Toni Avril Gardiner; 25 April 1941) is the mother of Abdullah II of Jordan. She was the second wife of

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family o ...

; the couple divorced on 21 December 1972. She is

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

by birth, and changed her name to Muna Al-Hussein upon marriage.

Early life

Muna Al-Hussein was born in Chelmondiston, Suffolk, England, the daughter of Doris Elizabeth (née Sutton) and Walter Percy "Tony" Gardiner. She attended

Bourne School Bourne School was a secondary school established in May 1954 in Rifle Range Road, Kuala Lumpur, Malaya (present day Peninsular Malaysia); it closed in July 1965. The school was administered by the British Families Education Service, which prov ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, which was administered by the

British Families Education Service The British Families Education Service (BFES) was an organisation set up by the British Government in 1946 to run schools for the children of British military and government personnel serving in West Germany. History Prior to 1946, Army Educati ...

for the children of British service personnel stationed overseas, where she was an A-grade

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player. The school closed when British forces withdrew from Malaya. Gardiner's father was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer who finished his career with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was the son of Arthur Gardiner, a gamekeeper. He joined the Royal Engineers at the age of 17, and was stationed in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 ...

for 18 months in the 1930s. He later served in France, North Africa, and Italy during World War II.

Marriage and children

Gardiner met the King of Jordan,

Hussein Hussein, Hussain, Hossein, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein or Husain (; ar, حُسَيْن ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-i-N ( ar, ح س ی ن, link=no), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", " ...

, while working as a secretarial assistant on the film set of ''

Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–191 ...

''. The King had allowed his troops to work as extras on this film and would occasionally visit to monitor the production's progress. However, there is another report, stating that Gardiner and the King met when her father began to work as a military adviser in Jordan. Gardiner married King Hussein in Amman,

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, on 25 May 1961. Together they had four children: * Abdullah (born 1962; now

King Abdullah II of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبدالله الثاني بن الحسين , translit=ʿAbd Allāh aṯ-ṯānī ibn al-Ḥusayn; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of t ...

) * Faisal (born 1963) * Aisha and

Zein Zein is a class of prolamine protein found in maize (corn). It is usually manufactured as a powder from corn gluten meal. Zein is one of the best understood plant proteins.Momany, Frank A.; Sessa, David J.; Lawton, John C.; Selling, Gordon W.; H ...

(twins, born 1968) They were divorced on 21 December 1972. She continues to work and live in Jordan.

Causes and activities

She is involved in the development of nursing in Jordan, founding the Princess Muna Scholarship Fund for Nursing. In 1962, she founded the Princess Muna College of Nursing, now the Princess Muna College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions.

Honours

National

* : **

Knight Grand Cordon with Collar of the

Order of al-Hussein bin Ali The Order of al-Hussein bin Ali is the highest order of the Kingdom of Jordan. It was founded on 22 June 1949 with one class (i.e. Collar) by King Abdullah I of Jordan with the scope of rewarding benevolence and foreign Heads of State. The class ...

Knight Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance, Special Class

Foreign

Greek Royal Family The Greek royal family (Greek: Ελληνική Βασιλική Οικογένεια) is a branch of the Danish royal family, itself a branch of the House of Glücksburg, that reigned in Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973. It ...

: **

GRE Order of Beneficence - Grand Cross BAR

Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Beneficence * Iranian Imperial Family: ** Medal of the 25th Century of the Monarchy

Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the 2,500 year Celebration of the Persian Empire * : ** Honorary Dame Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...

Romanian Royal Family The Romanian royal family ( ro, Familia regală a României) was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Romania, a constitutional monarchy in Central-Eastern Europe. The kingdom existed from 1881, when Carol I of Romania was proclaimed king, until ...

: **

ROM Order of the Crown of Romania 1932 GCross BAR

Extra Dame Grand Cross of the

Royal Order of the Crown The Order of the Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne, nl, Kroonorde) is a national Order (decoration), order of the Belgium, Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors. History The Order was established on October 15, 189 ...

* : **

Order of the Republic (Tunisia) - ribbon bar

Grand Cross of the Order of the RepublicOrder of the Republic
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muna al-Hussein 1941 births Living people Hussein of Jordan Jordanian people of English descent Jordanian princesses Jordanian royal consorts People from Babergh District Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Grand Crosses of the Order of Beneficence (Greece) Converts to Islam Princesses by marriage British emigrants