The Film That Made a King Of Jordan with British Roots

The 'English' King From The Desert!
His Majesty King Abdullah II Of Jordan;
Courtesy Of Lawrence Of Arabia!

Shifting through the facts and fiction, or the whys and wherefores that align to create our very existence, few of us, although there might be more out there than one can imagine, will debate the impact that T. E. Lawrence left on the Arab world, but the making of the film Lawrence of Arabia had an undeniable effect in Jordan, where it was filmed. Indeed, King Abdullah II of Jordan owes his very existence to the film.

This ‘royal’ might have been story begins with Antoinette ‘Toni’ Gardiner, who was born near Ipswich, England in 1941 and grew up like any other ordinary English girl during World War II. After finishing school she worked as a secretarial assistant on the set of Lawrence of Arabia, and when King Hussein of Jordan visited the set, he allowed his soldiers to act as extras in the film and was supporting its production, a party was hosted for him which he attended and the young English typist caught his eye. She charmed him with her honesty and plain speaking, and they shared much in common, they both loved the outdoors and the King soon fell in love.

Simple as that, it was all it took. Gardiner converted to Islam, they got married, and she was renamed Muna al-Hussein, which means ‘Hussein’s Delight.’ She refused to take the title of Queen, although rumor has it that the family laws of the Hashemite Royal House forbade such an act due to her lack of Muslim blood and either way, was not called Princess until after the birth of her first son. She was the King’s second wife; he had divorced his previous wife, from Egypt, years before.

Lieutenant-Colonel Tony Gardiner

                                     King Hussein

 Lieutenant-Colonel Tony Gardiner

 King Abdullah II attended the Eaglebrook School, then Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Followed by Pembroke College at Oxford University in 1982, where then Prince Abdullah completed a one-year Special Studies course in Middle Eastern Affairs. In 1987, Abdullah attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Ancestry of Antoinette Avril Gardiner

compiled by William Addams Reitwiesner