Zein al-Sharaf bint Jamil

Zein al-Sharaf bint Jamil (Arabic: زين الشرف بنت جميل; 2 August 1916 – 26 April 1994) was Queen of Jordan as the wife of King Talal. She was the mother of King Hussein.

Zein al-Sharaf
Queen Zein in 1953
Queen consort of Jordan
Tenure	20 July 1951 – 11 August 1952
Born	(1916-08-02)2 August 1916 Cairo, Sultanate of Egypt (present-day Egypt)
Died	26 April 1994(1994-04-26) (aged 77) Lausanne, Switzerland
Burial	Raghadan Palace
Spouse	King Talal ​ ​ (m. 1934; died 1972)​
Issue	King Hussein Prince Muhammad Prince Hassan Princess Basma
House	Hashemite
Father	Sharif Jamil 'Ali bin Nasser
Mother	Wijdan Shakir Pasha

Family

She was born in Alexandria, Egypt, into a family of Hejazi and Turkish Cypriot origin.^[1] Her mother was Wijdan Hanim, the daughter of Shakir Pasha,^[2] who was the grandnephew of the Ottoman-Turkish Cypriot Governor of Cyprus Kâmil Pasha. Her father, Sharif Jamil bin Nasser, was the governor of Hauran; he was the nephew of Sharif Hussein bin Ali of Mecca.^[2] Her paternal aunts were Musbah bint Nasser and Huzaima bint Nasser.

Marriage and children

Zein married her first cousin Prince Talal bin Abdullah of Jordan on 27 November 1934, with whom she had three sons and one daughters:^[3]

• King Hussein (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999)
• Prince Muhammad (2 October 1940 – 29 April 2021)
• Prince Hassan (born 20 March 1947)
• Princess Basma (born 11 May 1951)

Career

Queen Zein played a major role in the political development of the Jordanian Kingdom in the early 1950s, by supporting efforts in charitable works and women's rights.

She took part in the writing of the 1952 Constitution that gave certain rights to women and enhanced the social development of the country. She also created the first women's union of Jordan in 1944. Queen Zein further filled a constitutional vacuum after the assassination of the late King Abdullah I in 1951, while the newly proclaimed King Talal was being treated outside the Kingdom. The Queen again performed this role during the period between August 1952, when her son, King Hussein, was proclaimed monarch, and May 1953, when he assumed constitutional duties at the age of eighteen.

Following the arrival of Palestinian refugees into Jordan after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, she led national relief efforts to help the tens of thousands of refugees. She was also instrumental in establishing the women's branch of the Jordan National Red Crescent Society in 1948. Throughout her life, Queen Zein dedicated time and energy to the Um Al Hussein orphanage in Amman.

Honours

National honours

• Jordan:
  • Dame Grand Cordon with Collar of the Order of al-Hussein bin Ali.^{[citation needed]}

Foreign honours

• Malaysia:
  • Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (SMN (K)) - Tun (24 April 1965)^[4]