Before she became a princess, Rania Al-Yassin was an ambitious young woman, primed for a successful corporate career. She was a new college graduate, having received a degree in business from the American University in Cairo, and already owned a resume that boasted impressive names like Citibank and Apple. However, the course of Rania's life changed in January 1993 when she met Prince Abdullah at a dinner party in Amman, the capital of Jordan.
The two couldn't have come from more different origins. Prince Abdullah, the eldest son of Jordan's King Hussein and his second wife, Princess Muna, hailed from a background of privilege and comfort. Rania, on the other hand, had a turbulent beginning. She was born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents and moved to Jordan in 1991 after the Gulf War. Having lived a life filled with conflict, there was no guarantee that Rania would find common ground with Prince Abdullah.
Surprisingly, though, the couple instantly connected. Years later, the now-King Abdullah would tell People (via Arab News), "The minute Rania walked in, I knew it right then and there. It was love at first sight." Rania would echo these romantic sentiments, recalling their first meeting with Stellar Magazine in 2016, saying, "He had such a great smile and such infectious energy. We got on really well. And the rest, as they say, is history."
