Princess Muna Al Hussein (Arabic: منى الحسين; born Toni Avril Gardiner, 25 April 1941) is the mother of King Abdullah II of Jordan. She was the second wife of King Hussein of Jordan; the couple divorced on 21 December 1972. She is British by birth.
Early Life
Toni Avril Gardiner was born in Chelmondiston, Suffolk, England, the daughter of Doris Elizabeth (née Sutton) and Lieutenant Colonel Walter Percy "Tony" Gardiner. She attended Bourne School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, which was administered by the British Families Education Service for children of British service personnel stationed overseas, where she was an A-grade field hockey player. Her father was a British Army officer who served in the Royal Engineers and was stationed in Mandatory Palestine, France, North Africa, and Italy during World War II.
Marriage and Children
Gardiner met King Hussein of Jordan while working as a secretarial assistant on the film set of Lawrence of Arabia, for which the King had allowed his troops to work as extras. Another account states that she met the King when her father began working as a military adviser in Jordan.
She married King Hussein in Amman, Jordan, on 25 May 1961, changing her name to Muna Al Hussein upon marriage. It is believed she was not proclaimed queen because the government disapproved of the marriage due to her foreign origin. Together they had four children:
- Abdullah (born 1962; now King Abdullah II of Jordan)
- Faisal (born 1963)
- Aisha and Zein (twins, born 1968)
The couple divorced on 21 December 1972. She retained custody of their four children and was given Humar Palace at Al-Hummar, 15 miles west of Amman. She continues to live and work in Jordan.
Causes and Activities
Princess Muna has been heavily involved in the development of nursing in Jordan. She founded the Princess Muna Scholarship Fund for Nursing and, in 1962, founded the Princess Muna College of Nursing (now the Princess Muna College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions).
She serves as the WHO Patron for Nursing and Midwifery in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, is a former Commissioner to the UN High-Level Commission on Health Employment and Economic Growth, and is a Champion for the Nursing Now Campaign. In a speech at the opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly in 2020, she recognized the contributions of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, stating that "applause without action is no longer acceptable."
Honours
National:
- Grand Cordon with Collar of the Order of al-Hussein bin Ali
- Grand Cordon with Brilliants of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance
Foreign:
- Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Crown (Romanian Royal Family)
- Member, Special Class of the Royal Decoration of the Custodian of the Crown of Romania
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Republic (Tunisia)
