OPINION – – When the Jordanian royal family shared photos of its newest member , a baby girl born on August 3, questions quickly turned to the whereabouts of the child's mother. Princess Rajwa was absent from a series of photos of the child, named Princess Iman, that were released across three social media accounts: that of the baby's father Crown Prince Hussein , the baby's grandmother Queen Rania's and on the Royal Hashemite Court of Jordan's official page. The beautiful images, and one video, showed Crown Prince Hussein cradling his newborn daughter and the rest of the family including King Abdullah II, Queen Rania and their children proudly meeting the baby in hospital.
READ MORE: Princess Rajwa and Crown Prince Hussein introduce baby daughter But royal fans were wondering where the baby's mother, Princess Rajwa, was amongst all the happy snaps and why she had been left out. On Queen Rania's page, which has 10.3 million followers, comments included: "Why is there no pic of the mum?" "Would be nice to actually see a photo of Mumma and baby????" While on the account of Crown Prince Hussein, which shared a photo of King Abdullah and his granddaughter, one follower commented "No picture of the mother?" Another asked "Where is Rajwa?" It seems many fans expected to see the new mother hours after giving birth, showing off her baby to the world as other royal women have done in years gone by.
Princess Rajwa later appeared in two official photos shared by Crown Prince Hussein as the family left hospital, three days after the baby's birth. She did not stop for the waiting media to take her photo. Instead, Princess Rajwa smiled and walked with her husband arm-in-arm, as he carried their daughter in a capsule to their waiting car.
Thanks to Diana, Princess of Wales , and her daughter-in-law Catherine , the photo opportunity outside the hospital with newborn in arms has become a rite of passage for many royal mothers. Princess Diana appeared on the steps of the Lindo Wing with Prince William the day after he was born in June 1982. She did the same quick turnabout with Prince Harry in September 1984.
The now-Princess of Wales followed Diana's lead when she gave birth to Prince George in 2013, appearing on the steps outside St Mary's Hospital in Paddington the next day. Two years later, Catherine fronted the media on the same day as giving birth to Princess Charlotte . Looking even more polished than when she had Prince George, Kate waved and smiled at the press pack alongside Prince William.
Many wondered how on earth she found the energy so soon after having a baby. When Prince Louis was born in April 2018, Kate once again fronted the cameras with her baby on the same day as his arrival. Sarah, Duchess of York , posed with her two daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie outside London's Portland Hospital and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh showed off her daughter and son after their births outside of Surrey's Frimley Park Hospital.
And it's not just British royal parents who've proudly paraded their new arrivals to waiting media within hours of the birth. When Queen Mary , as Crown Princess of Denmark, had her first son – the now Crown Prince Christian – in 2005, she introduced the baby boy to media outside the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen four days later. When Princess Isabella was born in 2007, Mary and King Frederik posed for the cameras as they left hospital two days later, and when their twins Prince Vincent and Princess Josephine arrived in 2011, the hospital photo came six days afterwards.
In Monaco, Princess Caroline was photographed with her baby son Andrea in 1982 from inside her hospital room. Princess Grace held her newborn son, Prince Albert , on the balcony of the Prince's Palace just weeks after his birth in 1958. Princess Charlene chose to share the first photo with her twins on Christmas Day in 2014, two weeks weeks after Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella were born.
The photo was taken from inside her room at the Princess Grace Hospital. Royal babies were not always born in hospitals, though. They used to be born in palaces or other royal residences.
It was Princess Anne who started the trend of giving birth in hospital for the British royal family, choosing St Mary's in Paddington for the births of her children Peter and Zara. She was photographed waving to the cameras holding baby Peter from inside a car as she was driven home from the hospital in November 1977. Princess Rajwa's appearance with her baby girl four days after the birth appears to be in line with most other royal arrivals, with the exception of the Princess of Wales and Diana.
Princess Diana chose to have Prince William induced, telling biographer Andrew Morton she asked her medical team to speed up the birth "because I couldn't handle the press pressure any longer, it was becoming unbearable. It was as if everybody was monitoring every day for me". Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex , refused to play in to the example set by Diana and Kate on the hospital steps, instead appearing with Prince Harry and son Archie inside Windsor Castle instead of the Portland Hospital where he was born.
Meghan's appearance came on May 8, two days after giving birth. As a first-time mum who gave birth in November last year, I couldn't wait to share photos with my baby girl. But I made sure I had put on some makeup before taking photos that would be shown to those outside of my immediate family.
For anyone who has given birth, they would know the experience is often long, very tiring and emotionally draining. Even though it comes with the job of being a high-profile royal, fronting the cameras hours after having a baby is probably the last thing many royal mothers actually want to do. On Sunday, when Jordan's royal baby was announced, the Royal Fashion Police Instagram account was flooded with messages from "unhappy followers" asking why Princess Rajwa wasn't in the photos with her baby girl, according the page's creator.
The popular account, which records the outfits worn by royal women, questioned whether Diana and Kate had set an "impossible standard by being photographed looking immaculate right after giving birth". Indeed, when Princess Rajwa did appear in official photos with Crown Prince Hussein and their baby, she looked the picture of health with full hair and makeup. But, refreshingly, she was wearing white sneakers with her maxi dress and not heels.
Ultimately, what matters the most is whether the mother – royal or not – feels comfortable putting herself out there after childbirth. Whether it be hours, days or even weeks later, as long as mum and bub are well, that is all we should be talking, or caring, about. FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE : Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel.
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