Queen Rania of Jordan opened the Paris Peace Forum on Friday, with a speech calling for a shift in thinking to help save the planet.
For her fifth time addressing the annual forum, she noted that while humanity faced “a convergence of crises", due to war in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, countries were too often allowing divisions to stall progress.
"We are failing to meet our common threats with a spirit of common cause,” she said.
“Our world is off-balance; simply trying to keep things steady is not enough.”
For her address, she wore a striking embroidered shirt by the French luxury house Schiaparelli, from the spring/summer 2023 collection. Made from white poplin, the garment is decorated with "crystal beaded strands of golden hair that slither from the shoulders".
With the gold beading made to look like curls of hair, the playfulness is typical of the oeuvre of Elsa Schiaparelli.
In her address, she called for people to consider their responsibility to the planet, saying that nations need to be "renewing our faith in truth, recognising that we all have equal worth, safeguarding the future and believing in our ability to remake the world as we wish it could be.”
“Honesty is the foundation of trust, but words are not enough. Cynicism flourishes in the gap between words and deeds,” she said.
“It’s too late for wish lists. We need binding to-do lists to save both our credibility and our planet.”
The address in Paris came one day after Queen Rania and her husband, King Abdullah II of Jordan, met with Pope Francis at the Vatican in Rome.
For the visit, the queen wore a black dress with white cuffs by the Lebanese brand Diamondogs. Queen Rania teamed the collared dress with a white headscarf, befitting Vatican protocol.
Of the visit, the Jordan's Royal Hashemite Court later explained that the need to "sustain interfaith dialogue, promote co-existence and protect the Christian presence in the region" was discussed.
Their meeting took place days after the Pope visited Bahrain to address about 160,000 Catholics who live in the country.
See Queen Rania's style evolution — in pictures
