Alia Toukan

Alia Bahauddin Toukan (Arabic: علياء بهاء الدين طوقان, romanized: 'Āliyā' Bahāʾ ud-Dīn Ṭūqān; 25 December 1948 – 9 February 1977), also known as Alia Al Hussein (Arabic: علياء الحسين),[1] was Queen of Jordan as the third wife of King Hussein from their marriage on 24 December 1972 until her death in a helicopter crash in 1977.

[2] At the time of Alia's birth, he was the ambassador of Jordan to the Court of St James's (United Kingdom), Italy, Turkey and Egypt all at once.

[2] Alia spent most of her childhood years traveling with her parents during her father's career in Jordan's diplomatic corps: she lived in Egypt, Turkey, London, the United States, and Rome.

[2] She was asked by King Hussein, grandson of Abdullah I, to oversee the preparations for the first International Water Skiing Festival held in the coastal city of Aqaba in September 1972.

They had two children:[1][2] They also adopted Abir,[1][2] a young Palestinian girl whose mother had been killed by a plane crash at a refugee camp near the Amman airport.

Alia's love of the arts and literature inspired the establishment of libraries throughout the country, including one at the Central Bank of Jordan and another in the King Hussein Medical City.

Queen Alia walking alongside Jordanian Army Chief of Staff Habis Majali .
Queen Alia (left) with her husband following state dinner with Betty and Gerald Ford on 30 March 1976.