Queen Noor was the fourth wife of King Hussein of Jordan. She was born in Washington, D.C. on August 23rd 1951. Her parents were Doris (Carlquist) & Najeeb Halaby. Queen Noor's birth name was Lisa Najeeb Halaby. She grew up with her two younger siblings; Christian and Alexia. Her parents divorced in 1977.
Lisa Halaby as she was then known was educated at National Cathedral School between grades 4 and 8. She then went on to The Chapin School in New York City before finally graduating from Concord Academy in Massachusetts. Queen Noor later studied Architecture and Urban Planning at Princeton University in New Jersey. During her time at Princeton the young Queen Noor was on the Ice Hockey team.
After graduating from Princeton Noor moved to Australia for work. She later found work in Tehran, Iran which suited her growing interest in The Middle East. By 1977 Queen Noor found herself in Jordan working for Jordanian Airlines. Through her work designing Jordan's new airport Queen Noor met King Hussein of Jordan and they became friends as he was mourning the loss of his wife Queen Alia.
On 15th June 1978 Queen Noor and King Hussein married. They have four children together
1). Prince Hamzah (29th March 1980)
2). Prince Hashim (10th June 1981)
3). Princess Iman (24th April 1983)
4). Princess Raiyah (9th February 1986)
Through their children Hussein and Noor also share 8 grandchildren (6 granddaughters, 2 grandsons). Queen Noor is also stepmother to King Hussein's 7 other children from his three prior marriages. She has played an important role in particular with the raising of Queen Alia's two children, Princess Haya and Prince Ali who were just infants when their mother died.
Queen Noor has founded many programs to support youth, music, community development, micro finance and family health in Jordan as well as abroad. She is active in support of refugees. Queen Noor is also a commissioner for the International Commission on Missing Persons. Like Princess Diana, Queen Noor also campaigns for the banning of land mines.
On 7th February 1999 King Hussein passed away after being married for 21 years to Queen Noor. Since her husband's death Noor continues her work with many international and Jordanian organisations. She travels between her homes in Jordan, The United Kingdom and Washington, D.C. In her spare time Queen Noor enjoys skiing, water skiing, tennis, sailing, horseback riding, reading, gardening and photography.
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