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Zein Al-Sharaf Talal
Queen consort of Jordan
Queen Zein with future King Hussein in 1941
Tenure	20 July 1951 – 11 August 1952
Spouse	Talal of Jordan
Issue
Hussein of Jordan Prince Muhammad Prince El Hassan Princess Basma
Father	Sharif Jamal 'Ali bin Nasser
Mother	Wijdan Shakir Pasha
Born	August 2, 1916(1916-08-02) Alexandria, Egypt
Died	26 April 1994 (aged 77) Lausanne, Switzerland

Zein al-Sharaf Talal born in Egypt (2 August,1916 – 26 April,1994) was the Queen of Jordan as wife of King Talal. She was mother of the late King Hussein of Jordan.

[edit] Life

Zein al-Sharaf is remembered for her pioneering efforts in charitable works and her support for women’s rights.

Queen Zein played a major role in the political development of the Kingdom in the early 1950s. She took part in the writing of the 1952 Constitution that gave full rights to women and enhanced the social development of the country, as for example in 1944 when she created the first women’s union in Jordan. Queen Zein’s political instincts and courage allowed her to successfully fill 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 his constitutional duties at the age of eighteen.

Following the influx 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, she dedicated time and energy to the Um Al Hussein orphanage in Amman.

[edit] Marriage

Queen Zein married the then Prince Talal bin Abdullah of Jordan in 1934, with whom she bore four sons and two daughters:

• HM King Hussein (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999)
• HRH Princess Asma, died at birth in 1937
• HRH Prince Muhammad (b. 2 October 1940)
• HRH Prince El Hassan (b. 20 March 1947)
• HRH Prince Muhsin, deceased
• HRH Princess Basma (b. 11 May 1951)

Royal titles
Preceded by Musbah bint Nasser	Queen consort of Jordan 20 July 1951 – 11 August 1952	Succeeded by Sharifa Dina bint 'Abdu'l-Hamid