Like Sofia, Princess Muna is the mother of a king – her son, King Abdullah II, has ruled over Jordan for over 27 years. Both women were married to a king (Sofia to King Juan Carlos and Muna to King Hussein), but, unlike Sofia, Muna was never named Queen, as the Jordanian government disapproved of the marriage due to her foreign origin.
Born Toni Avirl Gardinier, she was raised in Suffolk by her parents, Doris Sutton and Lieutenant Colonel Walter Percy Gardiner. She studied at the Bourne School in Kuala Lumpur while her father was stationed overseas, gaining a reputation as a keen hockey player.
It was while working as a secretarial assistant on the set of Lawrence of Arabia that she met King Hussein. The monarch had permitted his soldiers to work as extras on the film, and he would occasionally stop by to watch how the production was progressing.
Princess Muna, who was born in Britain, married King Hussein of Jordan in 1961, much to the dismay of the Jordanian government, who disapproved of the monarch tying the knot with a former telephone operator from Ipswich
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Toni and King Hussein tied the knot in Amman on 25 May 1961, and the Brit changed her name to Muna Al Hussein. They welcomed four children together – Abdullah (now King Abdullah II), Faisal, and the twins, Aisha and Zein. The union was not to last, however, and they divorced on 21 December 1972. Princess Muna retained custody of the children and was offered residence at Humar Palace.
Following her divorce from King Hussein, Princess Muna has continued to play a key role in Jordanian royal life. In 2004, she accompanied her daughter-in-law, Queen Rania, to the wedding of then-Crown Prince Felipe of Spain.
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To this day, Princess Muna is dedicated to supporting charitable causes and philanthropy in Jordan, with a special focus on the nursing industry. She founded the Princess Muna Scholarship Fund for Nursing, and in 1962, founded the Princess Muna College of Nursing. She serves as the World Health Organisation’s Patron for Nursing and Midwifery in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, and spoke at the opening of the 73rd WHO Assembly in 2020, telling world leaders that ‘applause without action is no longer acceptable.’
It is understandable, then, that she has fostered a close friendship with Queen Sofia, who has also spent much of her royal career supporting charitable causes. During her reign, she took a specific interest in programmes to help with drug addiction, combat child slavery, and help women with financial necessities.