King Hussein and his wives

[maryshawn]

I read so little about their relationship except for Noor saying in her book she tried to be sensitive and include ex-es and children in activities and events. Muna strikes me as a kind woman who gracefully endured what must have been a shock--the end of her marriage when KH meet Alia. Since he didn't leave her for Noor, I would think they would have a cordial relationship. Does anyone know? I'm sure they're not lunching together on a regular basis but was Muna involved in receiving condolences and how much of a role does she play now that her son is King?

 

[bubbles]

Originally posted by maryshawn@Jun 19th, 2004 - 5:53 pm
Muna strikes me as a kind woman who gracefully endured what must have been a shock--the end of her marriage when KH meet Alia.

I read somewhere that PM was the one who ended the marriage and divorced KH....

 

[Bubbette]

I find that hard to believe, esp since she has remained single.

 

[shelley]

P. Muna did not end the marriage.

 

[Lalla Meriem]

King Hussein did not divorce Muna until his wedding to Alia was already fully planned and the marriage details worked out. She did not initiate the divorce, and she held out hopes of reconciliation after Alia's unfortunate death.

 

[maryshawn]

You know, I've seen videos of Muna and Hussein together. They were a charming couple and looked very happy. She was certainly very striking and seemed to have a great sense of humor. No one has ever really explained why KH so quickly dissolved his marriage and married Alia.......He divorced Dina, his first wife, because she was strong-willed and opinated and had her own "court." They always looked so staid and distant with one another..... But Muna brought a lot of fun into his life, as well as four great kids, and they seemed to have a genuine friendship. I'm sure Alia was physically attractive and also have read she was fun to be around but to so quickly find this chemistry--and find it deep enough to end a good marriage.....I don't get it. I have never read there was a rift between KH and Muna. It's a shame they didn't get back together although I read he turned to her for comfort and she provided it after Alia's death. Was he always a ladies man? In Roland Dallas' accurate book on KH he said even QA suffered as KH pursued British nannies in the household......I don't understand this kind of love. And did he really fall in love with a journalist and consider divorcing Noor? She gingerly addresses it in her book but it obviously made enough of an impact for her to even bring it up.

 

[julial]

I think KH`s action was simply wrong. Just becuase you have power, does not mean you treat the fellow human beings feelings as if they did not matter much.

 

[Lalla Meriem]

Muna and Hussein's marriage was over long before the divorce. They were living sperate lives.

 

[cut1me]

was P. muna,KH 1st or 2nd wife?

i know the 3rd one was Alia and then of course there was Noor but who was his 1st wife?

 

[Humble]

Originally posted by cut1me@Jun 26th, 2004 - 9:02 am
was P. muna,KH 1st or 2nd wife?

i know the 3rd one was Alia and then of course there was Noor but who was his 1st wife?

Dina, an egyptian I guess was his first wife

 

[Lalla Meriem]

His first wife Sharifa Dina bint Abdelhamid was a noble Hashemite cousin of the Egyptian branch of the family. She was chosen by Queen Zein al Sharif to be her son's bride. She was the most beautiful of all his wives but they did not get along very well and were divorced. She actually found out she was no longer queen or married while she was on holiday.

She was born a Sharifa, became Queen, and then was styled HRH Princess Dina (and remained so after her second marriage).

 

[maryshawn]

So then, what is the role of Dina and Muna in Jordan. With her son now King, will Muna--her children now grown--assume a more involved and public role. Does she live full time in Jordan? Does Dina? Are there causes she is involved in? I do not believe I have read she received condolences....but perhaps was there in some capacity. It really seems they did not get along at all--both very strong-willed but that can't be all as QN was and still is described as strong-willed. Interesting dynamics in this family.

 

[papillon]

Originally posted by maryshawn@Jun 26th, 2004 - 11:24 pm
So then, what is the role of Dina and Muna in Jordan. With her son now King, will Muna--her children now grown--assume a more involved and public role.

P. Muna is involved in a number of nursing/health care related causes. Her profile is a little higher now that her son is king, but she's not hoggish about it.

 

[Lalla Meriem]

Princess Dina lives primarily in Egypt now but is often in Jordan to be with her daughter and grand children. She was particuraly close to Prince Hussein Mirza who was often side lined by Alia's second husband.

Both women have always had some activities in Jordan as they remained Royal Princesses. They took much greater care with their positions as ex-wives who remained royal than did Princess Firyal for example, and are much respected for this.

 

[maryshawn]

A man (or woman) is often attracted to the same qualities in their mates--good and bad. KH married 4 women (OK, the one to Dina was arranged so perhaps doesn't count.....but after viewing a photo thread of KH with all of them, I have to believe he was attracted to certain shared qualities in all of them.

My "take" is that they all were beautiful, loved children, enjoyed his approach to life (kind of daredevil), intelligent, and valued making "a home" for him as a respite from work.

Of course, as he grew older, some of what he was looking for may have changed but does anyone else think they shared qualities he was attracted to?

 

[papillon]

One thing they seem to share is that, in choosing each of them, KH seemed to be making a shrewd political choice for himself at the time. (Sorry, can't take credit/blame for this notion. I read it in one of the many newspaper accounts of KH's death five-and-a-half years ago, and it just made sense to me.) With Dina, he kept it in the family; with Muna, he could improve strategic relations with the UK; with Alia, he could endear himself to the Palestinians; and with Noor, he could improve his lot with the US. As women, they don't seem to have a lot in common.

 

[Ipi Tombe]

for whatever my opinion is worth....KH looks most 'at ease' around QN. he seems to be quite comfortable in her prescense(can't spell it). it might have to do with his age or his comfort with his status and position in the world but definately he doesn't not look like a man who just lost 'the love of his life' a year earlier.

 

[sommone]

for whatever my opinion is worth....KH looks most 'at ease' around QN. he seems to be quite comfortable in her prescense(can't spell it). it might have to do with his age or his comfort with his status and position in the world but definately he doesn't not look like a man who just lost 'the love of his life' a year earlier.

It could be a combination of many things, but I don't think when posing for a picture with his new wife he's going to be looking depressed, but I'm sure on the inside he was still grieving for his former wife...as far as marrying as quickly as he did is anybody's guess.

 

[maryshawn]

King Hussein and the Journalist

I've never gotten a straight answer......prior to his last illness, was he, in fact, going to marry a young journalist/PR person who worked in the Court? Her mother is on the record saying he visited and expressed a real interest in her.....(he wasn't happy about that). The stepchildren--fond or not fond--of Noor, called her and told her he was secretly engaged, had bought a house for her, was planning a divorce while she was out of the country.....Just how serious/credible was this and what is this woman doing now besides staying out of Rania's way. One thump on the head with one of her totes would make an impression to stay away from the King.

 

[sommone]

Wow...I hadn't heard that many details of the affair he suppose to have had. If he was going to divorce Noor to marry someone else, and unfortunately she isn't one of my favorite people, then I feel sorry for her...even she doesn't deserve to be treated that way. I wonder why he just couldn't be happy be with one woman without having to continue to divorce over and over...In Alia's case, she died too soon...Makes me wonder if she would have been eventually kicked to the curb like the others before her? So, his illness kept him from divorcing Noor to move on to someone else?

 

[shelley]

Wow...I hadn't heard that many details of the affair he suppose to have had. If he was going to divorce Noor to marry someone else, and unfortunately she isn't one of my favorite people, then I feel sorry for her...even she doesn't deserve to be treated that way. I wonder why he just couldn't be happy be with one woman without having to continue to divorce over and over...In Alia's case, she died too soon...Makes me wonder if she would have been eventually kicked to the curb like the others before her? So, his illness kept him from divorcing Noor to move on to someone else?

That is the general impression amongst those that were close to the royal couple but your timing is wrong. The journalist affair was before he fell ill for the first time.

 

[sommone]

That is the general impression amongst those that were close to the royal couple but your timing is wrong. The journalist affair was before he fell ill for the first time.

Oh, thanks for the correction...I assumed she was talking about the final time he got sick.

 

[maryshawn]

The Affair

Well, it was in 1991 or so. The King was in Jordan and the Queen was in NYC and London, supposedly caring for a nephew and undergoing a breast biopsy which proved benign. But it was also said she was very angry and during the Holidays, they met to decide "in or out." I guess they decided to stay together but what really cemented that decision seems to be the first bout with cancer when she stayed with him and helped nurse him. After that, they were "inseperable." One journalist said seeing them together, you thought "here is the kind of love we all want just once in our lifetime."

The thing I don't understand is 1991 is about the time of the Gulf War and QN was a tireless advocate for Jordan w/the US and rest of world and worked very hard to provide some relief for the comfort of the refugees........Why would KH decide to cheat on a woman who was such an asset to him and his country? And I'm the first to admit I don't understand the way the male mind works!

 

[papillon]

Why would KH decide to cheat on a woman who was such an asset to him and his country? And I'm the first to admit I don't understand the way the male mind works!

Men cheat for all kinds of reasons. Many of those reasons have nothing to do with the partner. In the immortal words of the heart patient/former American President, "I cheated because I could."

KH didn't have a great track record entering into marriage #4 with QN. . .why would anyone think this would change him?

 

[shelley]

Why would KH decide to cheat on a woman who was such an asset to him and his country? And I'm the first to admit I don't understand the way the male mind works!

Maybe he knew more than anyone else how much of her public image was 'spin' and how much time she was actually out of the country, which she was. Maybe because their relationship was not what it was, but whatever the reason. Lots of maybes but one given was that he just was not monogamous......before, during or after any marriage.

 

[papillon]

Lots of maybes but one given was that he just was not monogamous......before, during or after any marriage.

Which supports one of my theories of predicting human behavior. . .that is, the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. When someone shows you who he is, believe him the first time (have to attribute that wisdom to Dr. Maya Angelou). Really, you can spare yourself a whole lot of pain in life by mastering that lesson. (Spoken like someone who's still trying.)

I think QN was just entirely naive to assume she might be able to reform her man in that way. So, if anything, given that she was wife #4, it was rather incumbent upon her either to look the other way or to adopt a more European attitude about fidelity.

 

[shelley]

So, if anything, given that she was wife #4, it was rather incumbent upon her either to look the other way or to adopt a more European attitude about fidelity.

Not entirely fair, Papillion - I don't think one can generalise about attitudes based on ethnic groupings. I think it is individual on the whole, I mean whether they believe in fidelity. Of course there are some cultures where things are more relaxed - ie some of the South Sea Islands, Brazil, and some countries where the keeping of concubines is still an accepted practice. I mean, even within the JRF - you have P. Hassan, P. Raad, P. Ali bin Nayef, all first cousins, all by most accounts faithful husbands, and you have K. Hussein who didn't know what the word meant ! But they were all basically the same mix of Arab/Turkish......

 

[papillon]

Not entirely fair, Papillion - I don't think one can generalise about attitudes based on ethnic groupings.

Sorry, I didn't mean this as an ethnic smear. Just that QN's particular choice of a spouse was a high risk one if she expected fidelity. Even at 26, she really should've been more aware of and realistic about that.

 

[shelley]

Sorry, I didn't mean this as an ethnic smear. Just that QN's particular choice of a spouse was a high risk one if she expected fidelity. Even at 26, she really should've been more aware of and realistic about that.

I am sure you didn't mean it to sound like an ethnic smear as you obviously know and love Jordan, but someone less informed might have picked up the wrong message . But you are so-oo right about a high risk spouse - at any age, who would willingly be anyone's fourth wife !!?

 

[maryshawn]

Her own father--a close friend of the King--warned her about him. Her parents were not exactly throwing a party because she chose to marry him and she admits it.

Sorry, I didn't mean this as an ethnic smear. Just that QN's particular choice of a spouse was a high risk one if she expected fidelity. Even at 26, she really should've been more aware of and realistic about that.

And, if she had read Roland Dallas' flattering bio of KH, he said very clearly even his beloved Alia "suffered from the King's fondness for British nannies....." Good thing Viagra wasn't introduced earlier in his life......