Princess Alia bint Hussein

Princess Alia bint Hussein of Jordan (born 13 February 1956) is the eldest child of King Hussein of Jordan from his first wife, Sharifa Dina bint 'Abdu'l-Hamid.

Princess Alia received her primary education in Amman, attending Ahliyyah School for Girls and Rosary College, Amman. She then attended Sibton Park School in Lyminge, UK, until 1968, after spending one year at Benenden School in Kent, UK (1969–70), and obtaining her A levels in Arabic, English and French from Millfield School in Somerset, UK, in 1972. Princess Alia graduated with honours from the University of Jordan in 1977, obtaining a bachelor's degree in English literature.

Princess Alia worked as registrar and artist with 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". In that capacity, in 2011, she delivered the keynote address at the World Arabian Horse Association (WAHO) conference titled "The Relationship Between Horses and Humans in Today’s World," drawing clear parallels between animal welfare and human rights.

Affiliations:

• 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

Princess Alia has held a 2 Dan Black Belt Tae Kwondo since 1987, and enjoys equestrianism,horse breeding, judging of Arabian horses, collecting stamps, reading and sports in general. Equestrianism is a family passion; her sister, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, is the current president of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) and a member of the International Olympic Committee.

• Royal Heritage - the story of Jordan's Arab Horses (ISBN 0956417043), co-authored by Peter Upton.

Princess Alia married Lieutenant-Colonel Nasser Wasfi Mirza on 12 April 1977 in the Raghadan Palace, and has one son from the marriage:

• HH Prince Hussein Mirza (born 12 February 1981).

Alia and Mirza divorced in 1988. She married Sayyid Mohammed Al-Saleh in Amman on 30 July 1988. They have two children:

• Talal Al-Saleh (b. 12 September 1989)
• Abdul Hamid Al-Saleh (b. 15 November 1992).

National Honours

•  Jordan: Knight Grand Cordon of the Order of the Star of Jordan
•  Jordan : 1st class of Al-Hussein Decoration for Distinguished Contribution (5.2.2007)

Foreign Honours

•  Japan: Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown (10.3.1976)
•  Norway: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (4.4.2000)
•  Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (18.3.1977)