Prince Hamzah Bin al-Hussein
Jordan’s King Abdullah issued a decree 19 May 2022 restricting the movement, place of residence and communications of his half-brother Prince Hamzah. The king issued the royal decree after approving a recommendation submitted to him on December 23 by a council formed under the Royal Family Law, state news agency Petra reported. The king explained his decision, saying that when Prince Hamzah’s actions of “sedition” emerged, he decided to handle the matter within the family in the hope that Prince Hamzah “would come to his senses.”
“However, after a year and a half, he [failed] to do so… and I [unfortunately] realized that he will not change his ways,” King Abdullah said in a letter. “I realized he [suffers from] a delusion where he sees himself as the guardian of our Hashemite legacy and where he believes that [he is the victim] of a systematic campaign [launched against him] by our institutions.” The king also noted that Prince Hamzah’s remarks and actions “reflected his denial of the reality he lives” and showed that he rejects to bear responsibility for his actions.
Hamzah bin Al Hussein, who holds no official position, is the eldest son of late King Al Hussein bin Talal and his American wife Queen Noor. When their father King Al Hussein bin Talal died in 1999, Abdullah, 59, was crowned and Hamza was titled the crown prince of Jordan. King Abdullah stripped him of this title five years later and gave it to his own eldest son Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, 26. He is a popular figure close to tribal leaders. Prince Hamzah is a popular figure in Jordan and is seen as religious and modest, in touch with the common people. Abdullah and Hamzah have not displayed any open rivalry over the years.
“I am not the person responsible for the breakdown in governance, for the corruption and the incompetence that has been prevalent in our governing structure for the last 15 to 20 years and has been getting worse every year. I am not responsible for the lack of faith people have in institutions, they are responsible,” the prince said 03 April 2021. He lashed out at the “ruling system” without mentioning the king by name, saying it had decided “that its personal interests, that its financial interests, that its corruption is more important than the lives and dignity and futures of the 10 million people that live here”.
Jordan’s former crown prince, Prince Hamzah, has been liaising with foreign parties over a “malicious plot” to destabilise the country, the Jordanian deputy prime minister said. On 03 April 2021 the military said it had issued a warning to the prince over actions targeting “security and stability” in the kingdom. Prince Hamzah, King Abdullah II’s half-brother, later said he was under house arrest. Several high-profile figures were detainedincluding Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, and Bassem Ibrahim Awadallah, a former head of the royal court in 2007-2008.
“The investigations had monitored interferences and communications with foreign parties over the right timing to destabilise Jordan,” Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi said. These included a foreign intelligence agency contacting Prince Hamzah’s wife to organise a plane for the couple to leave Jordan, he said. What triggered the wave of arrests was the fact they intercepted calls between Bassem Ibrahim Awadallah, who is a former minister of finance and former top aide in the royal court, talking about "zero hour".
“Initial investigations showed these activities and movements had reached a stage that directly affected the security and stability of the country, but his majesty decided it was best to talk directly to Prince Hamzah, to deal with it within the family to prevent it from being exploited,” he said. Efforts were under way to resolve the crisis within the royal family, but Prince Hamzah was not cooperative, he added. “It’s a break from the traditions and values of the Hashemite family,” Safadi said.
Born on the 29th of March 1980, His Royal Highness Prince Hamzah bin Al Hussein is the 41st generation direct descendent of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). His Majesty King Abdullah II officially named him as Crown Prince of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on 7th of February 1999 until 28th of November 2004.
Prince Hamzah received his elementary education in Jordan and then attended Harrow School in England. He then joined the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, passing out as a commissioned officer in the Jordan Arab Army in December 1999, with a number of prizes including the Sandhurst Overseas Sword, granted to the best overseas cadet and the HRH Prince Saud Abdullah Prize, presented to the cadet with the best aggregate mark in academic subjects.
Serving then as an officer in the Jordan Arab Army’s 40th Armored Brigade, Prince Hamzah attended a number of military courses and attachments in Jordan, the UK, Poland, Germany and the US. Currently holding the rank of Brigadier in the Jordan Arab Army, he served with the Jordan-United Arab Emirates force operating in former Yugoslavia under the umbrella of international peacekeepers. In the year 2006, he graduated from Harvard University.
In a surprise move, King Abdullah relieved his brother Hamza of his duties as Crown Prince on 28 November 2004, igniting speculation among Jordanians over the King's motives. The King did not name Hamza's replacement. Until he does so, the constitution provides that Abdullah's eldest son, ten-year-old Prince Hussein, now assumes the position. While many expected the King eventually to replace Hamza, many question the timing of the sudden announcement. Coming just months before Hamza graduates and returns to Jordan permanently, it appeared to be an attempt by the King to preempt any drift of popularity to his appealing half-brother.
Hamza's mother is Queen Noor, the American-born former Lisa Halaby, who became Hussein's fourth wife in 1978. She had groomed her son as a future king but the premature death of her husband upset her plans. Although it will exacerbate already frosty relations with Queen Noor and her offspring (and undoubtedly upset many ordinary Jordanians infatuated with Hamza), Abdullah's decision signaled his growing sense of confidence. Others may interpret it as a sign of weakness that he felt threatened by Hamza, and the timing was seen by some as premature in light of the venerated father's wish to bridge this particular family fault line. The King wanted all of his brothers and his son to develop independent careers and normal personalities without the weight of succession on their shoulders, and to avoid the fractiousness that can come with a named succession. End Summary and Comment.
On November 28, Jordan's Royal Palace released a letter from King Abdullah to Prince Hamzah, relieving Hamza of his duties as Crown Prince. The letter argued with some contradiction that Hamza would be ready for other duties by being "freed from the constraints" of a position that is elsewhere in the letter described as symbolic, without authority or responsibility. The letter stated that for five years Abdullah adhered to his father's wishes in keeping the CP position an "honorary" one, but seems to indicate that with this change, the nature of the position will also be amended. "I have been keen on explaining the true picture and embodying the substance, which is derived from the Constitution, of the position of the crown prince. This post is an honorary one; it does not give the person who assumes it any powers and does not make him bear any responsibilities." The King adds that given the difficult regional situation: "I have decided to relieve you of the position of crown price so that you will have greater freedom and power to move, act, and undertake any missions or responsibilities I assign you."
The letter did not mention a new Crown Prince by name, although the King wrote he would give the vacancy his "sincere attention" as guided by the constitution. The Jordanian constitution provides that in the absence of an appointed Crown Prince, the responsibility falls to the King's eldest son -- in this case, ten-year-old Prince Hussein. Given Hussein's youth, the King was required to appoint a regent who would serve, in the event of Abdullah's death, until young Hussein's eighteenth birthday. Despite rumors to the contrary, the King had no intention of naming a Crown Prince in the near or medium term future.
The whole point of "liberating" Hamza from the role was to enable him to develop his own career and more normal relations with a cross section of Jordanians, much as Abdullah believed he benefited when his father removed him from the succession at the age of five. Similarly, he wanted none of his brothers or his son to suffer a burden that is symbolic in nature but can sow divisions within the family and society. Nor did he want his son to make assumptions about his future and develop the laziness that can come from the certainty of succession.
This was not the first time Jordan had seen an abrupt change in the formal lines of succession. The late King Hussein, on his death-bed, stripped the title from Hassan and passed it to Abdullah. Abdullah himself lost the rank in the 1960s when his father first appointed Hassan to the role. Part of the deathbed realignment included giving the title to Hamza, the eldest son of the then-reigning Queen, Noor. This step was designed to bridge one of the internal Hashemite fault lines, between the children of Noor and the others. It also appealed to Hussein, whose special affinity for Hamza (whom he called the "apple of my eye") is well known in Jordan.
While few expected Hamza to ever rule, the timing and motivations of this change caused intense speculation in Amman, and ignited some criticism of the King. Hamza was set to complete his undergraduate studies in the U.S. this academic year, and had planned to return to Amman and take up more actively his princely duties. This was a factor in the King's thinking -- that the imminent return made it important to clarify Hamza's role. This may be true, but not for the reasons provided by palace spin.
His mannerisms and speech eerily recall those of his father, and his fluent classical Arabic contrasts with Abdullah's more colloquial (accent-inflected) style, learned in the barracks. Hamza for many Jordanians fit an image of the romantic, storybook prince, and an idolized version of his father. (In government offices, the obligatory photos of Hussein and Abdullah are on the walls, but on more than one secretary's desk was a more personal framed photo of the heart-throb, Hamza.) Jordan Crown Prince Hamza Bin al-Hussein and Princess Noor Bint Aasem Bin Nayef held their engagement ceremony at the royal palace August 29, 2003 in Amman, Jordan.
More significantly, Hamza showed signs of being more interested than Abdullah in shifting sails to populist winds -- undoubtedly a concern for this progressive, Western-minded king. Hamza had absorbed much of his mother's reserved attitude toward U.S. foreign policy in the region, and showed no enthusiasm for the foreign policy courses adopted by Abdullah. On balance, Abdullah may have concluded it was better to make the switch now, before Hamza returned and developed -- simply by being Hamza -- a magnet of loyalty away from Abdullah. The rivalry between two Queens -- Rania and Hamza's mother, Noor -- may also have contributed to the move.
Many Jordanians saw this step as premature, at best. There was general respect for Abdullah's ability to steer Jordan through exceptional challenges since Hussein's death. However, the core of his support arose from those with unshakable faith in the acts of his father, including that of appointing Abdullah as successor at the eleventh hour. Abdullah's decision defied the late Hussein's dying wish to bridge family differences, and the announcement was seen as just the latest salvo against Queen Noor, who retained a reserve of popular goodwill developed during Hussein's last illness.
Prince Hamzah has served his country in a number of other capacities; he was sworn in as Regent on numerous occasions and deputized for His Majesty King Abdullah II on a number of missions in the Kingdom and abroad. Prince Hamzah headed the Royal Advisory Committee on the Energy Sector. He was also the Honorary President of the Jordan Basketball Federation. HRH, who received a number of high decorations from Jordan and other countries, including Bahrain, Italy and Holland, is also the Chairman of the board of trustees of the Royal Car Museum and the President of the Royal Aero sports Club of Jordan.
In December 2017, Prince Hamzah slammed President Donald Trump's decision to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the contested city of Jerusalem. "What an exceptionally irresponsible and dangerous step by Mr Trump that will destroy any remaining US credibility as a broker in the Middle East Peace Process and deal a severe blow to any hope for a JUST and lasting peace #Jerusalem," he tweeted at the time.
Hamza spoke out in September 2018 against alleged corruption in Jordan and attacked the government's economic performance,"Perhaps the start must be correcting the failed management approach of the public sector and a serious attempt to combat rampant corruption, including accountability for the corrupt," the prince tweeted.
In March 2022, Hamzah apologised to his brother, according to a letter released by the Royal Hashemite Court. Hamzah went on to express hope that “we can turn the page on this chapter in our country’s and our family’s history.” The outspoken half-brother of Jordan’s king relinquished his princely title 03 April 2022. He wrote that he was driven to the decision because his convictions cannot be reconciled with the “current approaches, policies and methods of our institutions.” It was the latest chapter in an ongoing palace feud that saw the junior royal placed under house arrest a year earlier. He stopped short of directly criticising King Abdullah II and the ruling elites, as he had done in the past, but his tone signalled that the rift has not been mended, as the Royal Hashemite Court suggested in the past.
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