Raja Zarith Sofia

Raja Zarith Sofiah was born in Batu Gajah Hospital, Batu Gajah, on 14 August 1959 as the third child and second daughter of Sultan Idris Shah II of Perak and Raja Mazwin Raja Arif Shah. Her parents were first step-cousins once removed. She is a second step-cousin of Sultan Azlan Shah of Perak. Sultan Azlan's paternal grandfather, her paternal grandfather and her mother's paternal grandfather were children of Sultan Idris Shah I of Perak, all with different mothers.

She attended Datin Khadijah Primary School and then Raja Perempuan Kalsom School in Kuala Kangsar, before moving on to Cheltenham Ladies' College to complete her secondary education. She attended Somerville College, Oxford and obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Chinese studies from the University of Oxford in 1983 and her Master of Arts in 1986.

Raja Zarith Sofiah is the chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru. She is also a Fellow of the School of Language Studies and Linguistics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). She delivered the keynote address at the 2011 UKM International Language Conference. She is the Royal Patron of Oxford University Malaysia Club (beginning Michaelmas 2011).

Raja Zarith is a strong advocate of improving the use of English in Malaysia. In addition to Malay and English, she speaks Mandarin Chinese, Italian and French.

She has authored several children's books, including Puteri Gunung Ledang, and writes for the The Star's "Mind Matters" column.

Raja Zarith supports various charitable and non-governmental organisations. She is a patron of the Johor Spastic Children's Association, Rotary Club of Tebrau Heart Fund and the Malaysian English Language Teaching Association. She is also the Chair of the Community Services Committee of the Malaysian Red Crescent Society.

Raja Zarith Sofiah is also active in religious activities. There is a foundation which is named after her which is called Yayasan Raja Zarith Sofiah Negeri Johor. It was launched on 28 November 2012 at the Kuala Lumpur campus of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia The foundation's purpose is to generate funds for various educational programmes. The foundation was set up after the Sultan of Johor and she agreed with the proposal by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, in line with the Royal Johor Institution, in developing the teachings of Islam.

In 1982, Raja Zarith married the (then) Tunku Mahkota (Crown Prince) of Johor, Tunku Ibrahim Ismail. Ibrahim Ismail was proclaimed the 25th Sultan of Johor after the death of his father in January 2010. However, Raja Zarith has not been crowned Sultanah and is simply referred to as consort of the Sultan of Johor before the coronation but after her coronation, she is known as the Permaisuri of Johor.

She and Sultan Ibrahim have six children:

• Tunku Ismail Idris Abdul Majid Abu Bakar (born 30 June 1984), the current Tunku Mahkota of Johor
• Tunku Tun Aminah, The Tunku Puteri (born c. 1987), a cosmetics designer
• Tunku Idris, The Tunku Temenggong (born c. 1988)
• Tunku Abdul Jalil, The Tunku Laksamana (1990-2015)
• Tunku Abdul Rahman, The Tunku Panglima (born c. 1993)
• Tunku Abu Bakar, The Tunku Putra (born c. 2001)

• 14 August 1959 - 5 January 1963: Her Highness (Yang Amat Mulia) Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Raja Muda Idris Shah
• 5 January 1963 - 22 September 1982 Her Highness (Yang Amat Mulia) Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Sultan Idris Iskandar Al-Mutawakkil Alallahi Shah
• 22 September 1982 – 31 January 1984: Her Highness (Yang Amat Mulia) Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Sultan Idris Iskandar Al-Mutawakkil Alallahi Shah, The Consort of the Tunku Mahkota
• 31 January 1984 – 23 January 2010: Her Highness (Yang Amat Mulia) Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Iskandar Al-Mutawakkil Alallahi Shah, The Consort of the Tunku Mahkota
• 23 January 2010 - 23 March 2015: Her Royal Highness (Duli Yang Maha Mulia) Tuanku Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Iskandar Al-Mutawakkil Alallahi Shah, The Consort of the Sultan of Johor
• 23 March 2015 – 5 September 2017: Her Royal Highness (Duli Yang Maha Mulia) Permaisuri Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Iskandar Al-Mutawakkil Alallahi Shah, The Permaisuri of Johor
• 5 September 2017 – Present: Her Majesty (Duli Yang Maha Mulia) Raja Zarith Sofiah binti Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah, The Permaisuri of Johor

She has been awarded :

Honours of Johor

•  Johor (Zarith Sofiah, Queen of Johor) :
  • First Class of the Royal Family Order of Johor (DK I)
  • Second Class of the Royal Family Order of Johor (DK II)
  • First Class of the Order of the Crown of Johor (SPMJ)
  • Sultan Ibrahim Coronation Medal (PSI, 1st class, 23 March 2015)

Honours of Perak

•  Perak (Zarith Sofia, née Princess of Perak) :
  • Recipient of the Royal Family Order of Perak (DK, 21 May 2012)
  • Grand Knight of the Order of Cura Si Manja Kini (the Perak Sword of State, SPCM, ) with title Dato' Seri