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Queen Azizah of Malaysia underwent more than 16 rounds of IVF to have children

By Jo Abi|

Queen Azizah of Malaysia says she underwent 16 excruciating rounds of IVF before falling pregnant with her first child on her 17th round.

"We are Asian and we don't share our problems. But I decided it was time we started talking about it, and doing something about it," Queen Azizah, 61, tells The Telegraph in the UK.

The royal, who wed King Abdullah of Malaysia in 1986, went on to have six children including twins. They have four sons and two daughters.

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Queen Azizah of Malaysia
Queen Azizah and King Abdullah of Malaysia. (Getty)

"I had 16 rounds of IVF, and on the 17th I succeeded," she told the publication. "I never thought I'd go on to have five more [children], including twins.

Queen Azizah fell pregnant with the couple's first child กช His Royal Highness Prince Regent of Pahang Hassanal กช in 1995.

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Queen Azizah of Malaysia
Queen Azizah fell pregnant with the couple's first child in 1995. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The royal set up the Tunku Azizah Fertility Foundation to help fund fertility treatment in Malaysia in 2004, with the hope of supporting other couples going through what they did.

"My foundation sponsors treatment for poor and middle-income couples," she says.

"I know how much it costs, and the emotional struggle people go through. You go for a treatment and you come home and cry."

Queen Azizah of Malaysia
The royal set up the Tunku Azizah Fertility Foundation in 2004. (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

King Abdullah became king of Malaysia in 2019. He will hold the position until 2024 when Malaysia's system of rotating monarchs every five years will install the next ruler.

She speaks fondly of her children, all of whom have been educated in England.

"One wants to be an accountant, one wants to join the police," she says. "I just want them all to work, to be exposed to real life, to know what it's like for other people."

Prince Hassanal attended Sandhurst Royal Military College where Prince Harry received his Officer Cadet training.

Like the British royals, Prince Hassanal is a passionate conservationist.

"He's very 'Save the tigers.' He loves the jungle," she says.

Queen Azizah of Malaysia
All six of their children are educated in the UK. (Getty)

Queen Azizah and King Abdullah of Malaysia first met as teenagers but didn't get to know each other until they reached their early twenties.

The then-Johor princess, Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah, wasn't even allowed to date, according to the New Straits Times.

Then-Pahang Prince Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin wrote love letters to her until they were able to date and eventually wed.

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