King Talal


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rollin_keef

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He is the most under written about King of Jordan.

King Talal, can people plz tell me stuff about him, his views, his life, why he and King Abdullah the first didnt get along well, why him and his brother Nagef fought in a brief power struggle.....
 
Is the father of the late King Hussein?
I remember hearing he was schizophrenic.
 
~*~Humera~*~ said:
Is the father of the late King Hussein?
I remember hearing he was schizophrenic.

I've done quite a bit of research on King Talal and think he is one of the saddest and most underrated membersof the JRF. By all accounts ( mainly the British records but I have also spoken to Jordanians who knew or knew of him ) he was an intelligent, kindly man. He was responsible for two of the most important decisions in Jordan's poltical life. He was the moving force that gave Jordan a written constution ( an in imperfect document to be sure but better than none ) and behind compulsory education for boys and girls. He played a good game of chess, and rode very well. He enjoyed reading, music and poetry, and although much of his aggression when ill was targeted towards his wife, when well they enjoyed a good, normal relationship. King Abdullah did not like him as he thought he was too progressive ( ie the consititution and girls' education, I guess). He chose to marry Queen Zein rather than the woman his father had chosen of him, and did not care that she didn't wear Hijab or traditional dress. King Talal wanted to go to university in England and his father did not approve thinking he would get even more fancy ideas. So although with the British High Commissioner's help and advice he went to England and studied to the necessary standards and got into Cambridge, his father ordered him away after a semester and insisted he go to Sandhurst. (David Niven the actor was a friend of his and writes well about him in his autobiography). Prince Naif is decribed in the British records as lightweight, a superficial, badly educated man . King Abdullah prefered him as he gave in to his father and did not present any challenges. King Abdullah thought Prince Talal and Princess Zein's influence to be so bad that he took their infant son Hussein from them and brought him up his own. Talal and Zein lost two children. The first because there was no money for them to buy medicine for their infant daughter, nor heat the house, and she died at six months. The second because King Abdullah did not approve of women giving birth in hospital and the baby had some complications that a home delivery could not deal with and died. It is no wonder that King Talal ended his days in a sanatorium. Obviously he was a despressive but this sort of treatment at the hands of his father could not have helped. The British records make sad but interesting reading. :(
 
Are there any photos of King Talal?
 
shelley said:
I've done quite a bit of research on King Talal and think he is one of the saddest and most underrated membersof the JRF. By all accounts ( mainly the British records but I have also spoken to Jordanians who knew or knew of him ) he was an intelligent, kindly man. He was responsible for two of the most important decisions in Jordan's poltical life. He was the moving force that gave Jordan a written constution ( an in imperfect document to be sure but better than none ) and behind compulsory education for boys and girls. He played a good game of chess, and rode very well. He enjoyed reading, music and poetry, and although much of his aggression when ill was targeted towards his wife, when well they enjoyed a good, normal relationship. King Abdullah did not like him as he thought he was too progressive ( ie the consititution and girls' education, I guess). He chose to marry Queen Zein rather than the woman his father had chosen of him, and did not care that she didn't wear Hijab or traditional dress. King Talal wanted to go to university in England and his father did not approve thinking he would get even more fancy ideas. So although with the British High Commissioner's help and advice he went to England and studied to the necessary standards and got into Cambridge, his father ordered him away after a semester and insisted he go to Sandhurst. (David Niven the actor was a friend of his and writes well about him in his autobiography). Prince Naif is decribed in the British records as lightweight, a superficial, badly educated man . King Abdullah prefered him as he gave in to his father and did not present any challenges. King Abdullah thought Prince Talal and Princess Zein's influence to be so bad that he took their infant son Hussein from them and brought him up his own. Talal and Zein lost two children. The first because there was no money for them to buy medicine for their infant daughter, nor heat the house, and she died at six months. The second because King Abdullah did not approve of women giving birth in hospital and the baby had some complications that a home delivery could not deal with and died. It is no wonder that King Talal ended his days in a sanatorium. Obviously he was a despressive but this sort of treatment at the hands of his father could not have helped. The British records make sad but interesting reading. :(

Thanks for sharing this shelley...I had often wondered why there wasn't much written on King Talal other then the schizophrenia. I'm sorry, but your account of King Abdullah makes him sound like a heartless man. I can't believe that they didn't have any money for medicine...or heat? Wow...I thought as a prince, he would have had some money...Did it talk about KH relationship with his father? Yes, I guess one can understand why the poor man abdicated. I wonder though...was he sick before getting married to his wife, or after he married her? That is really sad though.
 
sommone said:
Thanks for sharing this shelley...I had often wondered why there wasn't much written on King Talal other then the schizophrenia. I'm sorry, but your account of King Abdullah makes him sound like a heartless man. I can't believe that they didn't have any money for medicine...or heat? Wow...I thought as a prince, he would have had some money...Did it talk about KH relationship with his father? Yes, I guess one can understand why the poor man abdicated. I wonder though...was he sick before getting married to his wife, or after he married her? That is really sad though.
I have never had much of an opinion of King Abdullah after I read all this. ( King Hussein touches on the financial straits his parents were in in his book 'Uneasy lies the head' when he says how they had to sell his little bicycle once because they were short of cash. ) He does sound a harsh man. :mad: And very old fashioned. I have always wondered if his influence on King Hussein was less than desirable. Inevitably being brought up by such a retrogressive person must have influenced him somewhat, as I believe he admired his grandfather very much. When I lived in Jordan someone told me that King Hussein was in many ways like his grandfather and Prince Hassan was more like the father, in temprament and interests. Certainly Prince Hassan's interest in civil society and education and culture sounds more like the father than the grandfather. Whilst on the subject, someone made a point related to the recent twist to the succession saga in Jordan, which is worth sharing. They said that they think that King Hussein certainly wanted the line to return to his own direct family but also that he was not happy at the prospect that his brother would take the country in a liberal direction that he was not comfortable with. If you look back at the old King's speeches, there is indeed very little about democatic practices and civil society, whereas Prince Hassan barely opened his mouth, both as crown prince and now, except to talk about such matters. This person also suggested that King Hussein was nervous that a reign of a King Hassan could upstage his reign as he knew better than any one else how much of the development and insfratructure of modern Jordan economically, politically and socially owed to his brother, although it was always done in his name and under his intructions. A slant I had not really considered seriously but now think has some validity. And maybe behing the remarks about two courts and two spheres of influence that we hear about regarding the position of a crown prince. After all, King Hussein elevated Intelligence Chiefs and Army Commanders to Prime Minister, and did not encourage political life all that much. And why did he do nothing about the so called honour crimes ? Surely he had the stature to impose his will on the tribes and traditional elements ? Or did he really not care about these things so much. I am now wondering.
 
I know I have said this but, that is just really sad. I mean to sell KH's bike...can you see the irony of it all. King Talal must have been humiliated on top of everything else. Poor, poor man. I would like to read KH's book "Uneasy lies the Head." Tragic really.
 
shelley said:
I have never had much of an opinion of King Abdullah after I read all this. ( King Hussein touches on the financial straits his parents were in in his book 'Uneasy lies the head' when he says how they had to sell his little bicycle once because they were short of cash. ) He does sound a harsh man. :mad: And very old fashioned. I have always wondered if his influence on King Hussein was less than desirable. Inevitably being brought up by such a retrogressive person must have influenced him somewhat, as I believe he admired his grandfather very much. When I lived in Jordan someone told me that King Hussein was in many ways like his grandfather and Prince Hassan was more like the father, in temprament and interests. Certainly Prince Hassan's interest in civil society and education and culture sounds more like the father than the grandfather. Whilst on the subject, someone made a point related to the recent twist to the succession saga in Jordan, which is worth sharing. They said that they think that King Hussein certainly wanted the line to return to his own direct family but also that he was not happy at the prospect that his brother would take the country in a liberal direction that he was not comfortable with. If you look back at the old King's speeches, there is indeed very little about democatic practices and civil society, whereas Prince Hassan barely opened his mouth, both as crown prince and now, except to talk about such matters. This person also suggested that King Hussein was nervous that a reign of a King Hassan could upstage his reign as he knew better than any one else how much of the development and insfratructure of modern Jordan economically, politically and socially owed to his brother, although it was always done in his name and under his intructions. A slant I had not really considered seriously but now think has some validity. And maybe behing the remarks about two courts and two spheres of influence that we hear about regarding the position of a crown prince. After all, King Hussein elevated Intelligence Chiefs and Army Commanders to Prime Minister, and did not encourage political life all that much. And why did he do nothing about the so called honour crimes ? Surely he had the stature to impose his will on the tribes and traditional elements ? Or did he really not care about these things so much. I am now wondering.
wouldn't it make sense for King Abdullah to be old fashioned? We're talking about a long time ago here. Most royalty was old fashioned at the time.
 
~*~Humera~*~ said:
wouldn't it make sense for King Abdullah to be old fashioned? We're talking about a long time ago here. Most royalty was old fashioned at the time.
Yes of course, but sadly, for whatever reason it meant that King Hussein's primary influences were those of a generation before his father's, and we are talking about a period when a huge change took place in the mindset and lifestyle of the Arab nations. In some ways King Hussein must have found himself torn between a traditional grandfather and progressive father. Confusing to say the least.
 
What about the so called power struggle between Talal and Naif?
Didnt Abdullah prefer Naif to the throne ahead of Talal?
Fav wives...fav sons.....
 
King Talal seems such a tragic figure. I think his upbringing may have contributed to his illness later in life. He seemed like a free spirit but his father kept him like a caged bird. KH would have been a different man had KT had more influence on his life. This is truly a sad story: a life that could have been wonderful curtailed by an obviously jealous father.
 
rollin_keef said:
What about the so called power struggle between Talal and Naif?
Didnt Abdullah prefer Naif to the throne ahead of Talal?
Fav wives...fav sons.....
Yes, in fact he at one point tried to replace Talal as heir apparant with Naif, but the British resident intervened and did not let this happen. There has just recently been an interesting article about King Talal's illness in a magazine called History Today but I do not have it here with me just now. It was I think in last month's issue. It makes sad reading as well. I wonder if King Talal was ever given that chance of benefiting from modern treatment. He did not die until the 1970's.

.
 
I'm just floored by the thought of KT and QZ being poor, and the fact that their babies died unnecessarily because of all of the BS...So PN is Princess Noor's grandfather or great-grandfather?

Oh, and shelley, if you can find that article that you were speaking about...would you post it so we can read it, please? I can't speak for anyone else, but I would love to read it.
 
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from enWikipedia.org

King Talal bin Abdullah (February 26, 1909 - July 7, 1972) was King of Jordan from July 20, 1951 until forced to abdicate due to health reasons (he suffered from schizophrenia) on August 11, 1952. Talal had ascended the Jordanian throne after the assassination in Jerusalem of his father Abdullah, of which his eldest son, Hussein, was also a near victim. Hussein formally succeeded his father in 1952 (but did not reign immediately, as he was not yet 18 years old).
Born in Mecca in 1909, in 1934 he married Zein al Sharaf Talal. He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from which he graduated in 1939.

During his short reign he was responsible for the formation of a liberalised constitution for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which made the government collectively, and the ministers individually, responsible before the Jordanian Parliament. The constitution was ratified on January 1, 1952. King Talal is also judged as having done much to smooth the previously strained relations between Jordan and the neighbouring Arab states of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
 

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some pictures I found
 

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oops. Turns out that's not King Talal but his father King Abdullah I in the first picture. I'm hoping that the second photo (the man with the baby) is King Talal.
 
Lyonnaise said:
some pictures I found
Yes it is. It is exactly the same picture that was in the magazine article and the baby is Prince Hassan.
 
sommone said:
I'm just floored by the thought of KT and QZ being poor, and the fact that their babies died unnecessarily because of all of the BS...So PN is Princess Noor's grandfather or great-grandfather?
Grandfather.
 
shelley said:
I've done quite a bit of research on King Talal and think he is one of the saddest and most underrated membersof the JRF. By all accounts ( mainly the British records but I have also spoken to Jordanians who knew or knew of him ) he was an intelligent, kindly man. He was responsible for two of the most important decisions in Jordan's poltical life. He was the moving force that gave Jordan a written constution ( an in imperfect document to be sure but better than none ) and behind compulsory education for boys and girls. He played a good game of chess, and rode very well. He enjoyed reading, music and poetry, and although much of his aggression when ill was targeted towards his wife, when well they enjoyed a good, normal relationship. King Abdullah did not like him as he thought he was too progressive ( ie the consititution and girls' education, I guess). He chose to marry Queen Zein rather than the woman his father had chosen of him, and did not care that she didn't wear Hijab or traditional dress. King Talal wanted to go to university in England and his father did not approve thinking he would get even more fancy ideas. So although with the British High Commissioner's help and advice he went to England and studied to the necessary standards and got into Cambridge, his father ordered him away after a semester and insisted he go to Sandhurst. (David Niven the actor was a friend of his and writes well about him in his autobiography). Prince Naif is decribed in the British records as lightweight, a superficial, badly educated man . King Abdullah prefered him as he gave in to his father and did not present any challenges. King Abdullah thought Prince Talal and Princess Zein's influence to be so bad that he took their infant son Hussein from them and brought him up his own. Talal and Zein lost two children. The first because there was no money for them to buy medicine for their infant daughter, nor heat the house, and she died at six months. The second because King Abdullah did not approve of women giving birth in hospital and the baby had some complications that a home delivery could not deal with and died. It is no wonder that King Talal ended his days in a sanatorium. Obviously he was a despressive but this sort of treatment at the hands of his father could not have helped. The British records make sad but interesting reading. :(
King Talal was a great king, and yes he had a sad fate, but I have some comments on your post Shelley, may be things that you don't know:​
I wonder of what is written about him in the british records, because the british were not having good relations with him, and he was not there preference, and hat I know that they were against him, may be due to his progressive attitudes, and constitution which is (very) advanced one, etc. but may be I should not wonder of the british behavior to have a good record about him , as they may like his ideas but did not want him to apply it .. I will give an example in my next post.​
The other thing what you said about king Abdullah I did not like him because of girl education, as there was girl education in the time of KA, and at the time of my grandmother who was a child when KA I was th king in the 20's girls were going to schools, and the old girl's school in Irbid is called "Musbah" which is the name of KA-I wife.​
Third, assuming that his illness is due to his father treatment, is not likely because his father died , and he did great thing after that and became free of his father, the only pressure on him then became only from Britain this could be the reason.​
 
shelley said:
I have never had much of an opinion of King Abdullah after I read all this. ( King Hussein touches on the financial straits his parents were in in his book 'Uneasy lies the head' when he says how they had to sell his little bicycle once because they were short of cash. ) He does sound a harsh man. :mad: And very old fashioned. I have always wondered if his influence on King Hussein was less than desirable. Inevitably being brought up by such a retrogressive person must have influenced him somewhat, as I believe he admired his grandfather very much. When I lived in Jordan someone told me that King Hussein was in many ways like his grandfather and Prince Hassan was more like the father, in temprament and interests. Certainly Prince Hassan's interest in civil society and education and culture sounds more like the father than the grandfather. Whilst on the subject, someone made a point related to the recent twist to the succession saga in Jordan, which is worth sharing. They said that they think that King Hussein certainly wanted the line to return to his own direct family but also that he was not happy at the prospect that his brother would take the country in a liberal direction that he was not comfortable with. If you look back at the old King's speeches, there is indeed very little about democatic practices and civil society, whereas Prince Hassan barely opened his mouth, both as crown prince and now, except to talk about such matters. This person also suggested that King Hussein was nervous that a reign of a King Hassan could upstage his reign as he knew better than any one else how much of the development and insfratructure of modern Jordan economically, politically and socially owed to his brother, although it was always done in his name and under his intructions. A slant I had not really considered seriously but now think has some validity. And maybe behing the remarks about two courts and two spheres of influence that we hear about regarding the position of a crown prince. After all, King Hussein elevated Intelligence Chiefs and Army Commanders to Prime Minister, and did not encourage political life all that much. And why did he do nothing about the so called honour crimes ? Surely he had the stature to impose his will on the tribes and traditional elements ? Or did he really not care about these things so much. I am now wondering.
no wonder my preferences too are K Talal and p hassan and I think you too shelley, as they say, great mind think alike;) :p .

but about king hussein being traditional like his grandfather and p hassan being libral like his father, I have somthing to say:

the first prime minister when king Hussain became a king 'Fawzi Almullqi' was liberal and democratical man, and was vey much supported by king hussain, the opposition which was leaded by a former prime minister ( was a prime minister at the time of KA-I ) 'Tawfiq abu alhuda' was conservative. The british supporteded the opposition (the conservatives), and they (british)said it literally that 'almulqi' is better but we prefer 'abu alhuda' , (and this the example i talked about in my brevious post) , the oppositions worked hard to form majority and suceeded in forming a new goverment supported by the conservatives, another arab country and the british,(to people who don't know , Jordan was colonized by britain).
at that time prince hassan was just 6 years old, but actually i am shocked that p hassan is liberal, that makes me shelley ask you if you know about P Hassan opinion in 'Alkabariti ' goverement, who was liberal.
 
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Safaa Batin said:
no wonder my preferences too are K Talal and p hassan and I think you too shelley, as they say, great mind think alike;) :p .

but about king hussein being traditional like his grandfather and p hassan being libral like his father, I have somthing to say:

the first prime minister when king Hussain became a king 'Fawzi Almullqi' was liberal and democratical man, and was vey much supported by king hussain, the opposition which was leaded by a former prime minister ( was a prime minister at the time of KA-I ) 'Tawfiq abu alhuda' was conservative. The british supporteded the opposition (the conservatives), and they (british)said it literally that 'almulqi' is better but we prefer 'abu alhuda' , (and this the example i talked about in my brevious post) , the oppositions worked hard to form majority and suceeded in forming a new goverment supported by the conservatives, another arab country and the british,(to people who don't know , Jordan was colonized by britain).
at that time prince hassan was just 6 years old, but actually i am shocked that p hassan is liberal, that makes me shelley ask you if you know about P Hassan opinion in 'Alkabariti ' goverement, who was liberal.

This is very good toknow Safaa as I only can rely on the records etc that I can read in English. I did not know so much about the former Prime Ministers, especiallyfrom a Jordanian point of view,so I find it very interesting.

The reason I think Prince Hassan is liberal is because he is always talking about civil society, and the need for debate, and I have heard speeches and statements where he talks about involving people from the grass roots up. I know he and Kabariti clashed but I thought the main clash came over the rise in the bread prices, when I have been told by people who were in the cabinet at the time, that Prince Hassan did not favour going along entirely with the IMF demands to increase the price of bread. Prince Hassan wanted to hold meetings with the Parliamentary sub committee I suppose on finance, I am not sure, to see what could be done to lessen the blow to the ordinary Jordanian, when the Prime Minister just took the decision, without consulting with the committee which as we all know was unpopular and resulted in trouble in Karak, and elsewhere. I think he felt that although Mr. Kabariti talked a lot about liberal government he didn't really practice it very much. But as a Jordanian who actually lives there you will also have your own sources, and I am sure you are correct. I also believe that Prince Hassan had a very good relationship with the late Wasfi Tell who was probably one of the best Prime Ministers Jordan ever had, which says something about him. I think that much of the problem in the relationshion between Prince Hassan and Kabariti was because increasingly the King was giving Prince Hassan more and more responsibility, and dealing with the government through him, and naturally two is company, three is a crowd. (Which actually now makes more sense of what has been said in recent days about the role of the crown prince. ) I was also in Jordan when Prince Hassan called for the first conference which dealt solely with the subject of women, their employment and participation in the labour force, and which finally led to women being given the vote in I think it was 1973.

I know Prince Hassan was very young when his father left the country, and could not have been directly influenced. but I am talking about personal attitudes and inclinations. He is obviously more of an intellectual and thinker as it seems his father was. I think that the late King, although he did a lot for Jordan, could have done more in the areas such as 'honour' killings . He had a lot of prestige and could have used it to impose his will, as he did in other areas, such as peace with Israel. Prince Hassan founded the Family Protection Unit which took care of abused women ( and which has now been taken over by Queen Rania) and brought in foreign specialists to advise the police on how to deal with people who had been abused. He also mentioned the need to limit the size of families in some speeches I heard when I was in Jordan about 20 years ago now. All of this is quite liberal for an Arab politician or leader. And I believe that even today Prince Hassan does come up with some quite open ideas in the talk shows and debates he appears on in various Arab channels, and in the various meetings and conferences he holds, and in what he writes in newspapers. Unfortunately, I cannot follow these as my Arabic knowledge is very modest.
 
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Safaa Batin said:
King Talal was a great king, and yes he had a sad fate, but I have some comments on your post Shelley, may be things that you don't know:​

I wonder of what is written about him in the british records, because the british were not having good relations with him, and he was not there preference, and hat I know that they were against him, may be due to his progressive attitudes, and constitution which is (very) advanced one, etc. but may be I should not wonder of the british behavior to have a good record about him , as they may like his ideas but did not want him to apply it .. I will give an example in my next post.​

The other thing what you said about king Abdullah I did not like him because of girl education, as there was girl education in the time of KA, and at the time of my grandmother who was a child when KA I was th king in the 20's girls were going to schools, and the old girl's school in Irbid is called "Musbah" which is the name of KA-I wife.​

Third, assuming that his illness is due to his father treatment, is not likely because his father died , and he did great thing after that and became free of his father, the only pressure on him then became only from Britain this could be the reason.​



What I meant about education in that yes, there were of course girls's schools in Jordan before King Talal's reign, but it was he who pushed through legislation that there a basic education was compulsory for both boys and girls.
 
From http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/


King Abdullah with his two sons in the 1930s. To his right, Crown Prince Talal; to his left, Prince Nayef.

King Abdullah, accompanied by Crown Prince Talal, congratulates soldiers on the occasion of Army Day.

King Talal at the opening ceremony of Parliament. To his right is the young King (then Prince) Hussein.

King Talal delivers a salute with his son, Prince Hussein.

King Talal with Lebanese dignitaries during a visit to Lebanon.

His Majesty King Talal bin Abdullah, circa 1951.
 

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Thanks for posting these pictures of KT. I have never seen many of them.
 
have u ever noticed that none of KH's sons were named after his own father, Talal, does any1 know what really happened btw KH and his father ?
 
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tipper said:
have u ever noticed that none of KH's sons were named after his own father, Talal, does any1 know what really happened btw KH and his father ?
Yes,this is weird.I read one of KH's books,"Uneasy Lies the Head",translated into arabic,he mentioned his father as an unwell man,a nice guy who used to gather them around and tell them stories.KH seemed more attached to his grandfather and mother.He said that King Abdullah the first was totally disapointed about P Talal,didn't get the son he wanted,KH was the son.You can read about how his grandfather supervised his education,he'd test his teachers to make sure he got a good,decent education.Once he asked KH questions about arabic proverbs,he didn't answer well so the arabic teacher was fired.He spent the whole day with him,from the dawn till midnight.No sign of his father in his life,even when he married Muna,QZ handled it all.When his father was dismissed,didn't say much about him,he explained more about how he'd feel being a teenage King.He always said,even in several interviews, that he owns everything to his mom.Don't know what happend between the two,when he wrote the book,his father was stil alive yet it appeared like he died,KH was about 26 when he wrote the book.I wonder how KHs' sons felt towards their grandfather-Abdullah,Faisla,Aisha and Zein.It's odd enough that there are no photos of them with PT while we can see photos of QZ along with them,or at least,I didn't come across one.Still wonder.....
 
Jorja Fox said:
Yes,this is weird.I read one of KH's books,"Uneasy Lies the Head",translated into arabic,he mentioned his father as an unwell man,a nice guy who used to gather them around and tell them stories.KH seemed more attached to his grandfather and mother.He said that King Abdullah the first was totally disapointed about P Talal,didn't get the son he wanted,KH was the son.You can read about how his grandfather supervised his education,he'd test his teachers to make sure he got a good,decent education.Once he asked KH questions about arabic proverbs,he didn't answer well so the arabic teacher was fired.He spent the whole day with him,from the dawn till midnight.No sign of his father in his life,even when he married Muna,QZ handled it all.When his father was dismissed,didn't say much about him,he explained more about how he'd feel being a teenage King.He always said,even in several interviews, that he owns everything to his mom.Don't know what happend between the two,when he wrote the book,his father was stil alive yet it appeared like he died,KH was about 26 when he wrote the book.I wonder how KHs' sons felt towards their grandfather-Abdullah,Faisla,Aisha and Zein.It's odd enough that there are no photos of them with PT while we can see photos of QZ along with them,or at least,I didn't come across one.Still wonder.....
I know for a fact that King Talal was sent to a Swiss clinic where he lived til the day of his death, which was not so many years ago- it looks he had tried to strangle his own son, KH, don't know why, but he was ill, he had schizofrenia, I wonder why King Mohammed was disappointed with him, it was not his fault he was so ill.... I could never read anything else about K Talal, don't know if KH and Q Zein ever visited him in the Swiss Clinic, -don't think he ever met any of his grandkids- so, when KH married dina, K Talal was not already around, I think he was sent to the Clinic be4e KH's coronation.BTW, there is one pic of KH and his father when Hussein was a toddler.:confused: :cool:
 

http://jordantimes.com/_vti_bin/shtml.exe/thu/homenews/homenews8.htm/map


From Jordantimes Jordan marks death of King Talal

hnews8_7_7.jpeg
AMMAN (JT) — Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the death of King Talal Ben Abdullah, father of His Majesty the late King Hussein and Their Royal Highnesses Prince Mohammad, Prince Hassan and Princess Basma. Under his reign, the country prepared a new liberalised Constitution in 1952, which introduced a culture of Arab unity by declaring Jordan part of the Arab nation. The Constitution also established a new relationship between the government and the Parliament by obliging the former to be answerable to the latter and to be responsible for its actions before the legislature.

The Constitution also covered the implementation of the principles and objectives of the Great Arab Revolt, led by Sharif Hussein Ben Ali in the early 20th century against Ottoman rule.

During King Talal's rule, Jordan concluded important agreements including a pan-Arab collective security agreement.

King Talal, born in Mecca in 1909, studied at the British Military Academy, Sandhurst, and in 1929 became the first Jordanian officer to graduate from the institute.

In 1934, he married Zein Al Sharaf, the late Queen Mother, who died in 1994.

King Talal assumed the Throne shortly after the assassination of King Abdullah I on July 20, 1951.

Due to health reasons, he abdicated a year later on Aug. 11, 1952 in favour of his eldest son Prince Hussein.

King Talal died July 7, 1972.

Thursday, July 7, 2005
 
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