Princess Haya mourns ‘inspiration’ Queen Elizabeth

Princess Haya bint Hussein of Jordan said she looked up to Queen Elizabeth as a woman who inspired her.

“I think we’ll never, ever see a queen like that again and we never have before,” said the half-sister of Jordan’s King Abdullah.

Haya recalled the kindness of the queen after her mother died in a helicopter crash and after King Hussein died.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

“After my father died and my mother died, Her Majesty was kind enough to have special words for my younger brother and I and to make sure that we were alright,” she stated.

She has been a constant thread in almost every aspect of our lives. I don’t think there was a decision made or a time when I didn’t think about what the queen would do.

She was an example and an inspiration to look up to. I did the same thing as many other people.

The princess fought a three-year custody battle with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum at the London High Court. She was given sole responsibility for looking after their kids.

She studied at Oxford University before attending independent schools.

The princess and Queen Elizabeth shared a love of horses.

Haya was the president of the International Equestrian Federation for two years. She is a royal vice-president of the Royal Windsor Horse Show and has attended every edition since it was founded in 1939.

Haya said that she felt a lot of sadness for the world without her.

For the people of Britain, who have lost one of the world’s most amazing monarchs and a part of their lives.

DERBY MEMORIES

The princess highlighted a painting of Queen Elizabeth and Aureole, her first Derby runner, that she did not own.

The young monarch is dressed in pink, facing the chestnut thoroughbred with its three white socks and blaze, on a sunny day.

The work by Alfred Munnings, which sold at auction to an unknown buyer for more than 2 million pounds, is an image of pleasure and duty.

The princess said that watching a magnificent animal do what it does best is the glory of watching a woman and a monarch.

I believe that the queen found a way to connect with people through horses.

Aureole was the closest the queen could get to winning the Derby.

Princess Haya was invited to tea with the queen after winning with New Approach.

She asked me how it felt when I was in the Royal Box. What do you think it feels like? She said that she shared that with her.

I kept praying that she would win the Derby.

I believe that she will win every Derby.

A pound is equivalent to 0.8715 dollars.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Reporting was done by Alan Baldwin.

The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles are part of our standards.