The wife of the Emir of Qatar, HH Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser, has been voted among the most stylish women in the world by US magazine Vanity Fair.

Sheikha Mozah, also the UNESCO special envoy for basic and higher education, joins HRH the Duchess of Cambridge, brother-in-law Prince Harry of Wales, fashion designer Stella McCartney and Charlotte Casiraghi, in the magazine’s International Best Dressed Women List for 2012.

See more pictures of Sheikha Mozah here.

It is not the first time the glossy magazine has included the Qatari royal in its annual list. Sheikha Mozah was first recognised on the highly-regarded sartorial poll back in 2009.

The Gulf-state’s First Lady is well known for her love of fashion. Her official wardrobe during a state visit to the UK in October 2010 prompted the British designer Julien Macdonald to declare her a style icon. “[She is] glamorous and sophisticated, the very epitome of a royal,” said the designer.

“Not since Jackie O has any first lady had such global resonance in terms of fashion,” he said.

“I would love to dress her. Her personal style is rich with power and confidence, yet retains a real femininity that many women aspire to,” he added.

The Qatari royal family has also been making its mark on the fashion  industry in recent years. The royal family last month snapped up the iconic Italian fashion house Valentino for an estimated €700m (US$857.46m). Mayhoola for Investments SPC acquired full ownership of Valentino Fashion Group from London-based private equity fund Permira and Italian textile entrepreneurs Marzotto.

Investment firm Qatar Holding acquired the luxury department store Harrods from Egyptian businessman Mohamed al-Fayed for GBP£1.5bn in May 2010.

See more pictures of Sheikha Mozah here.

The Vanity Fair list, which was first published in 1940, is considered one of the most influential in the fashion world.

Arabianbusiness