The world knows her as Queen Rania now, but when she first married King Abdullah II, Rania had no idea she'd eventually become Queen Consort of Jordan — Abdullah was not the Crown Prince when they married. That title belonged to his uncle Prince Hassan who was supposed to become king. But just before Abdullah's father died, he named his son the Crown Prince. And in early 1999, Abdullah became King of Jordan. Just a couple of weeks later, Rania was named Queen Consort.
"It was a big shock to me. First of all, to lose the king, whom we all loved so much. And then, the other thing," Rania said to Oprah.com in 2001 of her unexpected ascension to Queen. "You think it is like a fairy tale. It sounds like a fairy tale. But in fact, it is not a fairy tale. Being queen is overrated," she added. Whether Queen Rania has changed her mind about her royal role since giving that interview is unknown, but she certainly takes her position seriously. Rania has been involved in numerous different humanitarian efforts since becoming Queen Consort, and she's used her platform to further various causes in her country. She's even garnered the attention of Forbes, who named her one of the most powerful women in the world. "Queen Rania also continues to champion an organization that publicizes and stops child abuse, one of the first of its kind in the Arab world."
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