Tunku Puan Zanariah

Born on 5 July 1940, in Dusun Green Palace, Pasir Mas, Kelantan, Tengku Zanariah was the seventh child of HRH Tengku Panglima Raja Kelantan from among nine siblings. She came from the Kelantan royal family. Her father, the late Tengku Panglima Raja Tengku Ahmad was a son of HRH Al-Marhum Tengku Temenggong Kelantan Tengku Abdul Ja'far Ibni HM Long Senik Mulut Merah (Sultan Muhammad II).

Tengku Zanariah was enrolled into Sultanah Zainab School, Kelantan an elementary school where she studied from 1946 to 1949. Between 1950 and 1952 she studied at the Convent Bukit Nanas in Kuala Lumpur before returning to Kelantan where she continued her studies at Sultan Ibrahim School, Pasir Mas. With the encouragement of her father and her own desire to equip herself for the future, she left for England in 1954 to further her studies at the Upper Chime School, Isle of Wight.

While studying in England, Tengku Zanariah met Tunku Iskandar (later Sultan Iskandar) who was also studying there. They later married in 1961, and became the mother of Tunku Iskandar's six children.

Her husband became Sultan of Johor in 1981. Although she was known as Sultanah, she was never formally crowned.

In 1982, Tengku Zanariah sponsored and established the Majlis Wanita Negeri Johor or MAWAR (the Women's Council of Johor), which organises various religious activities such as the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday at its headquarters at Sungai Cat Road in Johor Bahru. MAWAR also collected donations for distribution among flood victims in Johor as well as the less fortunate and the needy.

Her husband died in 2010 and was succeeded by her stepson Tunku Ibrahim Ismail. In 2011, a government circular issued removed the honorific 'Sultanah' from her name, and instructed that she be referred to instead as 'Tunku Puan Zanariah' or simply 'Tunku Zanariah'. The current royal court also does not recognise her as a former holder of the title Sultanah of Johor.

Tunku Zanariah had a passion for the arts. She also loved cooking and took great care in her daily chores. She payed special attention to the selection and arrangement of decorations in the palace particularly in preparation for official dinners. Tunku Zanariah also loved reading especially about culture, history and affairs of neighbouring countries.

She was also the winner of the first edition of Miss Malaya-International 1960 where she had rights to represent Malaya in the 1st edition of Miss International 1960 pageant in California, United States. Unfortunately, she did not placed in the pageant during that time.

During her free time, Tunku Zanariah loved to exercise, ride horses and play golf or tennis. She was also good in water skiing. During her younger days, she climbed Gunung Ledang, the highest mountain in Johor. She is currently the only consort to have done so.

• Chancellor of the University of Technology, Malaysia (UTM) until 2010.
• Patron of the Iskandar Puteri Foundation.
• Patron of the Women’s Council of Johor (MAWAR) since 1982 until 2019.

Tengku Zanariah died on 17 March 2019. She was laid to rest at the Mahmoodiah Royal Mausoleum in Johor Bahru, Johor.

Honours of Johor

•  Johor :
  • First Class of the Royal Family Order of Johor (DK, 28 October 1972).
  • Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Loyalty of Sultan Ismail (SSIJ).
  • Sultan Ibrahim Coronation Medal (PSI 1st class).

Honours of Malaysia

•  Malaysia : Recipient of the Order of the Crown of the Realm (DMN, 1987).
•  Kelantan : Royal Family Order of Kelantan (DK).
•  Kedah : Royal Family Order of Kedah (DK)

Foreign Honours

•  Brunei : Family Order of Brunei (Darjah Kerabat Laila Utama, DK)

Places named after her

Several places were named after her, including:

• Sultanah Zanariah Library, a library in Johor Bahru, Johor