Princess Salma bint Abdullah of Jordan is the third child of His Majesty King Abdullah II and Her Majesty Queen Rania.
At just 20-years-old, she’s already achieved an incredible amount and even has some history-making achievements under her belt.
Following in the footsteps of her father’s military background, Princess Salma recently stepped out, deputising for the King of Jordan at the inauguration of the Military Women’s Training Centre in Zarqa.
As she continues to step out into a more public role, here is everything you need to know about Jordan’s history-making Princess Salma.
She’s made history for women in Jordan
The beginning of 2020 saw Princess Salma bint Abdullah of Jordan becoming the first young Jordanian woman to complete preliminary pilot training on a fixed-winged aircraft. His Royal Highness King Abdullah II, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces pinned the badge to his daughters military uniform, giving his daughter her wings.
She has a shared connection with Prince William and Prince Harry
Princess Salma graduated from the UK’s prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2018 when she was just 18 years old. Prince William and Prince Harry also both attended Sandhurst, with Harry completing his commissioning in 2005 and William a year later in 2006. Princess Salma also following in her father and elder brother, Crown Prince Hussein’s footsteps, as well as her older sister Princess Iman’s. Princess Salma was the third child of Queen Rania and King Abdullah II to complete the course at the military academy.
Her birthday is almost identical to her older sister’s
Princess Iman is four years older than Princess Salma, however, their birthdays fall just one day apart. Born on 26 September 2000, Princess Salma celebrates her birthday one day before her elder sister, who was born on 27 September 1996. Due to the close proximity of their birthdays, last year Queen Rania dedicated an Instagram post jointly to the sisters to mark their birthdays, which are just one day apart.
The caption read, “When my girls are near, love and laughter are never far behind. Happy birthday Iman and Salma.”
Princess Salma has a close relationship with her brother, Crown Prince Hussein
Taking to Instagram, Crown Prince Hussein, the oldest of the four siblings, frequently posts about his sister’s achievements. Most notably, when Princess Salma passed-out from Sandhurst the eldest brother posted a photo of himself and Princess Salma, captioning it, “We are always proud of you. With the family at Salma’s Commissioning Parade at Sandhurst today.”
Her grandfather was the founder of modern Jordan
The late King Hussein bin Talal, who reigned from 1952 until his death in 1999, was the grandfather of Princess Salma. Known to his people as , or ‘The Humane King’, King Hussein bin Talal was recognized for his work to improve the life of Jordanians. Crown Prince Hussein is also named after his grandfather.
