Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will travel from this Saturday to Monday to Jordan invited by the kings Abdullah and Raniasovereigns of the Hashemite kingdom since 1999. The Spanish Kings will travel accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albares. The official trip will have the mission of strengthening the already excellent relations between both kingdoms as well as strengthening the commercial relations of the two countries. Don Felipe and Doña Letizia will hold meetings with representatives of the Spanish community in the Jordanian country. They will arrive on Saturday in the capital of the Hashemite kingdom, Amman, where an official welcome ceremony will be held that same day at the Al Husseiniya Palaceofficial residence of the kings of the Arab country.
Aside from the importance of the trip at an institutional level, this appointment has a marked personal accent since Doña Letizia and Don Felipe VI chose Jordan as one of the well-known destinations for their honeymoon in 2004. The friendly relationship of both royal families already occurred in the previous generation when the monarchs were Don Juan Carlos I and the late King Hussein.
2004, the wedding of the Princes of Asturias
On May 22, 2004, the now Kings of Spain got married and that was when Doña Letizia met Rania of Jordan and the majority of the crowned heads or those waiting to be crowned in Europe. The now queen consorts were able to chat on the eve of the wedding at the reception offered to the guests at the Palacio del Pardo. Rania had already been queen of Jordan for five years and Doña Letizia was about to become Princess of Asturias. This difference in rank did not mean that they immediately connected, as has been demonstrated in the following two decades.
Queen Rania of Jordan at the dinner before the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Asturias in May 2004. (Photo: Gtres).
Rania of Jordan at the wedding of the Princes of Asturias in Madrid, May 2024. (Photo: Gtres).
Honeymoon in Jordan for Don Felipe and Doña Letizia
The next occasion that the now Kings of Spain had to meet the Hashemite monarchs was a few days after the former’s wedding as they spent part of their honeymoon in Jordan. Famous was the visit that the then Princes made to the historic city of Petra that they visited as a couple even though they were offered to close it so that they could visit it alone, a fact that they rejected.
The then Princes of Asturias in Petra, Jordan, during their honeymoon in 2004. (Photo: Gtres).
Prince Hamzah’s wedding in 2004
Taking advantage of the fact that they were on their honeymoon in Jordan, the then Princes Felipe and Letizia, who had been married for exactly one week, went on May 27, 2004 to the wedding of the then crown prince, Hamzah with Noor bint Asem bin Nayefwho was her second cousin. The prince was the son of the remembered Hussein and his fourth wife, Noor. When he was heir to the throne, there were many royal who attended their wedding, including the then kings Don Juan Carlos I and Doña Sofía.
Months after said marriage, King Abdullah announced that his brother was no longer the heir in favor of his first-born and current heir, Hussein.
Felipe and Letizia at the wedding of the then crown prince, Hamzah, of Jordan. (Photo: Gtres).
Official trip of the kings of Jordan to Spain in 2008
In 2006, King Juan Carlos and King Sofia signed the ‘Amman Declaration’ in the Jordanian capital, a document designed to reinforce the role of both countries as guarantors of understanding between civilizations. This signature was corroborated two years later, in 2008, in the Zarzuela Palace, on the official trip that Kings Abdullah and Rania made to Spain.
The then Princess of Asturias, Doña Letizia, with Queen Sofía and Rania of Jordan at the Zarzuela in 2008. (Photo: Gtres).
Victoria of Sweden’s wedding in 2010
Another occasion in which we were able to see the kings of Jordan and the then princes of Asturias together was on June 19, 2010 at the wedding of the heir to the throne of Sweden, Princess Victoria with Daniel Westling. As it was the connection of an heir to the throne, practically all the European royal families also gathered and, once again, Rania and Letizia were able to see each other.
Royal wedding between Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling, on June 19, 2010 at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Stockholm. (Photo: Gtres).
Official trip to Jordan in 2011
In April 2011, Felipe and Letizia returned on an official visit, invited by King Abdullah and Rania, to Jordan, where together they went to the University of Jordan and inaugurated the Spanish Resource Center, as this is one of the most in-demand languages.
The Kings of Jordan, hosts of the Princes of Asturias in Jordan on an official trip in 2011. (Photo: Gtres).
2015: First ‘duel’ of queens
Queens Letizia and Rania in Madrid in 2015. (Photo: Gtres).
In November 2015, King Abdullah of Jordan and his wife Queen Rania landed at the State Pavilion at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport where they were received with all honors by the already Kings of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, monarchs since on June 19, 2014. Since they both had the same rank, it was the first time they saw each other in public and Doña Letizia did not have to make the bow that, by protocol, a princess makes to a queen.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania during a private dinner on the occasion of their official trip to Spain. (Photo: Gtres).
Funeral of Elizabeth II in 2022
On September 8, 2022, at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, the queen of queens, Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, stopped breathing. Days later, on September 19 and following tradition, his burial and subsequent funeral took place in St. George’s Chapel. The whole world mourned his departure and in London there was one of the largest concentrations of crowned heads (uncrowned but from great dynasties) in memory. Curiously, Rania of Jordan and Queen Letizia walked together in said funeral procession.
The Kings of Spain and Jordan at the funeral of Elizabeth II. London, 2022. (Photo: Gtres).
Coronation of Charles III
On May 6, 2023, Charles III was crowned in Westminster Abbey. It was another of the occasions in which Kings Felipe VI and Letizia met in the company of other members of royalty.
Kings Felipe VI and Letizia and those of Jordan at the coronation ceremony of Carlos III. (Photo: Gtres).
Lunch in Madrid in June 2023
The last time that Queens Rania and Letizia saw each other, unless it was officially reported, was on the occasion of the visit of the Hashemite monarchs to Spain on the occasion of their trip to Spain to attend the meeting of the Aqaba Process.
The Kings of Spain and Jordan in Madrid at an official lunch in 2023. (Photo: Gtres).
The Aqaba Process, as reported by the Royal House “is an initiative of the King of Jordan that develops a series of international meetings that seek to strengthen military and security cooperation, coordination and exchange of experience between regional and international partners to combat terrorism. Organized with a regional focus for each round, the meetings foster expert discussions on security challenges.”
This working visit of Kings Abdullah II and Rania of Jordan to Spain is similar to the one they made eight years ago, with the purpose of strengthening bilateral relations between both countries. Taking advantage of their stay in our country, Kings Felipe and Letizia offered the monarchs of Jordan a lunch.
Next appointment: Jordan, October 2024
Next Saturday, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will arrive in Jordan invited by the Hashemite monarchs on an official trip that will end on Monday. Generally, these types of official trips are made during the week, but since the host country is Muslim and its holy day is on Friday, the trip will begin the next day. Two days in which the four kings will once again reinforce the deep friendship and affection that unites them and that comes from the previous generation with the endearing relationship that the parents of both kings, Hussein of Jordan and Don Juan Carlos I, always maintained.
What does seem clear is that both queens will have the opportunity again to see each other and exchange time and conversation. Both are constantly compared by the international press but, beyond the outfits, the two queens are women who reached dynasties after a successful professional life and who choose causes to represent dedicated to delicate groups or those with little voice.