When 31-year-old Queen Rania of Jordan and British prime minister’s wife Cherie Blair, 47, had lunch together at Ten Downing Street on Thursday, it gave a new twist to the term “power lunch”. The two are, after all, formidable examples of that new league of women who, in juggling high-powered profiles with a commited and fulfilling family, have earned themselves the moniker “superwomen of the new millennium”.
Despite the difference in their ages, the two women – both of whom opted to wear conservative dark suits for the meeting – have a great deal in common and obviously got along famously. Both are noted for their intelligence and espousal of international causes, both have families which include young children, and both live their lives very much in the public eye.
While their spouses chatted over lunch, Tony Blair and King Abdullah II also met up to discuss the war on terrorism. The British prime minister had met with US president George Bush earlier in the week, during which time the controversial decision to continue air strikes in Afghanistan throughout the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was taken. The Jordanian monarch later expressed his support for the decision at a press conference in the British capital.
“We cannot always have things the way we like it,” he said. “The main aim is the military objectives and we just hope and pray that they are achieved as quickly as possible.”
The king’s comments came at the end of a busy three-day official visit to the UK which drew to a close on Thursday evening with a banquet at Spencer House. While Rania was her usual glamorous self in a dark sequin-encrusted gown, all eyes were on the Queen who eschewed her normal pastel palette for a luminescent gold. The British monarch wore a stunning three-quarter-length sleeve gown in gold fabric, teamed with a matching handbag. Gold court shoes completed the outfit.
Queen Rania and King Abdullah return to Jordan on Friday.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
