Jordan's Queen Rania Broke Vatican Protocol in a Meeting with Pope Francis

On Thursday, November 10, Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan had an audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City, Rome, Italy.

The meeting occurred days after Pope Francis returned to the Vatican from his Apostolic visit to Bahrain, a country in the Middle East.

According to the Royal Hashemite Court of Jordan, Their Majesties meeting with Pope Francis focused on "the need to sustain an interfaith dialogue, promote coexistence, and protect Christian's presence in the region". More than 114,000 Roman Catholics are currently living in the Kingdom of Jordan.

King Abdullah II of Jordan and Pope Francis

Interfaith dialogue in Vatican

King Abdullah II also held a meeting with other key officials in the Vatican, most notably, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of the Holy See, to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and coexistence in the region.

Queen Rania's Outfit

For their visit, Queen Rania donned a black dress with white cuffs, a pair of black shoes, and a loosely draped white headscarf. 

The King and Queen of Jordan and Pope Francis. Credit: RHC

Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan

The Queen's white headscarf is surprisingly a break of Vatican protocol as "white veils" are reserved only for Catholic Queens of Belgium, Italy, and Spain, and the Princess Consort of Monaco.

Vatican protocol for visiting women who will have an audience with the Pope states that they should wear a long black dress and a black veil also called "mantilla" in the Roman Catholic Church.

Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan

However, there's a special privilege granted to Catholic Queens and princesses in Europe to wear a white dress and a white veil when meeting the Roman Pontiff. However, not all.

This privilege is only granted to Catholic Queens of Belgium, Spain, and the former Kingdom of Italy, royal princesses from the House of Savoy, Luxembourg, and Monaco. 

But this privilege is not extended to the princesses of Liechtenstein (even though they are Catholics), to the Catholic Queen Maxima of The Netherlands, and to Princess Michael of Kent, the wife of Prince Michael of Kent.

Opening of Parliament in Jordan

On November 13, 2022, King Abdullah II of Jordan presided over the 19th Opening of the Parliament's secondary ordinary session in Amman, Jordan.

He is supported by his wife, Queen Rania, his heir-apparent and eldest son, Crown Prince Hussein, and his mother, Princess Muna Al-Hussein. 

Queen Rania and Princess Muna. Credit: Queen Rania instagram

It is so rare to see Princess Muna appearing in a public event with the Jordanian royal family. Princess Muna is British. She was born Toni Avril Gardiner in Suffolk, England, in 1941. Her parents were both British.

She married King Abdullah's father, King Hussein in 1961 and changed her name to Muna Al-Hussein. In 1972, they divorced after having four children. She was the only wife of King Hussein (he had four wives) who was not granted the title of Queen.

During the Opening of Parliament, Queen Rania took to instagram and posted a photo with Princess Muna saying, "with my dear mother-in-law, Princess Muna, after His Majesty's Speech from the throne at the opening of the 19th Parliament's second ordinary sessions today".