Her Royal Highness Princess Haya was born in Amman, Jordan, in 1974. She is the daughter of His Majesty the Late King Hussein Bin Talal and Her Majesty the Late Queen Alia Al Hussein, who died in a helicopter accident when Princess Haya was three years old. Princess Haya is half-sister to His Majesty King Abdullah the II. She has one full brother, His Royal Highness Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein.

From 2004 to 2019, Princess Haya was married to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. They have two children, Her Highness Sheikha Al Jalila and His Highness Sheikh Zayed.

Princess Haya completed her early education in Jordan before attending Badminton and Bryanston Schools in England, where she achieved 14 GCSEs and 4 A Levels. She is a graduate of St Hilda’s College, Oxford, with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

Princess Haya competed in the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and the Jerez 2002 World Championships as a show jumper. She was elected as President of the FEI (International Governing Body of Equestrian Sport) in 2006, in the Federation’s first contested election and re-elected in 2010 for a second consecutive four-year Presidential term. Princess Haya was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee from 2007 to 2014. In 2007, she was also appointed as a member of The Honorary Board of The International Paralympic Committee. She was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in 2012.

As FEI President, Princess Haya oversaw Olympic and Paralympic equestrian events at the Olympic Games of Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, 2010, as well as equestrian world championships in Aachen, 2006, Kentucky, 2010 and Normandy, 2014.

Princess Haya stood on a platform of reform in the election for the FEI Presidency in 2006. In the fight against doping, she appointed former UK Metropolitan Police chief, Lord Stevens, to head an anti-doping Clean Sport task force, culminating in a London 2012 Equestrian Olympic Games untainted by the use of banned substances. In 2012 she created the FEI Solidarity programme, based on the Olympic Solidarity model. During her time as FEI President, she also oversaw the creation of an FEI Olympic Council.

Princess Haya brokered a record-breaking ten-year sponsorship deal with Longines in January, 2013, worth more than 160 million Euros for the FEI. She later facilitated its roll-out to the International Horse Racing Federation. Princess Haya’s presidency saw the launch of high profile FEI-owned properties such as FEI-TV, an eight-figure broadcast distribution renewal with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and IMG until 2022 and a multi-year broadcast deal with Sky Mexico. Princess Haya also facilitated the FEI’s partnership with CNN to launch the CNN Equestrian on World Sport – later extended to include horse racing.

Princess Haya was the Campaign Manager for her brother, Prince Ali’s bid for the Presidency of FIFA (the international football federation) in 2015 and 2016 when he stood against Sepp Blatter, and latterly Jerome Champagne, Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, and Gianni Infantino. During the campaign, Princess Haya set up an Integrity Unit and Network to fight corruption in sports and their governing bodies. Its work continues.

In 2003, Princess Haya founded Tkiyet Um Ali, an NGO for the eradication of hunger and poverty in Jordan and the Middle Eastern region. In 2005, United Nations World Food Programme Executive Director Jim Morris appointed her as a United Nations World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador. In 2007, His Excellency Kofi Annan appointed Princess Haya as a Founding Member of the Global Humanitarian Forum. The same year, United Nations Secretary General, His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon, appointed Princess Haya as a United Nations Messenger of Peace for Hunger and Poverty. Also in 2007, Princess Haya was appointed as Chairperson of the International Humanitarian City in Dubai. In 2009, Nelson Mandela and Mlungisi Sisulu appointed Princess Haya as Global Patron of the Walter Sisulu Pediatric Cardiac Foundation (WSPCF).

Tkiyet Um Ali currently supports 30,000 households living in extreme poverty throughout the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Princess Haya oversaw the evacuation of 200 UNDP staff from Afghanistan in 2009, 45 WHO staff members from Egypt in 2011 and nearly 500 UN Staff in Yemen across crises in 2011, 2014 and 2015. She helped facilitate airlifts of aid to Syrian refugees in Greece and Jordan and oversaw emergency humanitarian aid delivery to South Sudan, Mozambique, Uganda, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Vanuatu, Indonesia, Nepal, Iraq, Syria and Jordanian flood victims, among others. She managed the air corridors for relief to be sent to Gaza in 2009 and 2014 and an airbridge to enable the delivery of aid to the Rohingya people in 2017. Under her Chairmanship, the International Humanitarian City coordinated the development of the Humanitarian Logistics Databank and the Flash Media Studio. During her tenure, International Humanitarian City grew to become the world’s largest and busiest logistics hub for humanitarian aid, hosting 9 United Nations agencies and 89 NGOs and commercial entities.

Princess Haya served as Chairperson of Dubai Healthcare City Authority from 2011 until 2019, and as President of the UAE Nursing and Midwifery Council from 2009 until 2019 and contributed to the establishment of The Al Jalila Foundation for medical research and education in April 2013. She also oversaw the design and construction of the Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital. Princess Haya is President of the Board for the Queen Alia Foundation for Hearing and Speech and President of the Princess Haya Biotechnology Centre at Jordan University of Science and Technology.

Princess Haya was the first woman in Jordan to hold a heavy vehicles license.