THE GUARDIAN: Normally high-profile wife of King Abdullah has lowered her visibility as nation remains at crossroads of reform
Queen Rania has scaled back her public activities sharply since facing damaging criticism last year that she was playing too prominent a role in running Jordan.
Rania, now 41, married Prince Abdullah in 1993, six years before he ascended the throne. Stylish and tall, in 2005 she was voted the third most beautiful woman in the world and hailed by Oprah Winfrey as an "international fashion icon" who also speaks up for women's rights.
On her Twitter account, followed by over 2 million people, she describes herself as "a mum and a wife with a really cool day job".
In the past Jordan's carefully-controlled media would report on two or three different royal appearances a day. Now the queen is mentioned less frequently, typically visiting a school or hospital or programmes for innovation and entrepreneurship.
Plans for the creation of a Queen Rania Foundation – modelled on one run by Sheikha Mozah, the glamorous consort of the emir of Qatar – have been quietly shelved. » | Ian Black in Amman | Friday, May 11, 2012
