King Hussein, his wives & children: their relationships with each other

[maryshawn]

We talk a lot about QN vs QR and other rumored troubles and jealousies between the adults. With all of that going on, how do the 12 children of King Hussein get along? Princess Haya lent her tiara to Queen Rania so I saw that as a good sign. But other than that, I've read little about how the various children interact with one another (years ago, they did file a joint petition of complaints presented to QN and KH). But are the children of QN treated well by the others? And how often do they see one another anyway? If anyone has any anecdotes or thoughts on this issue, I'd love to hear them. Either they transcend the "adult" agendas and are on good terms with one another or they mimic the adults and choose sides, I would think.

[Angie]

I was wondering the same thing

If Rania and Noor don't get along, I would think Noor's children would be on her side.

[papillon]

I think it's more complicated than that. For example, CP Hamzah wants to keep his place in the succession, so he has got to show loyalty to KA, even if/when KA and QR are being unfair to QN. From all that I have read, it seems the relationships among the children are every bit as complicated as those among the adults.

[maryshawn]

That makes sense but it all seems incredibly delicate. KA is supporting his wife by making sure Noor has a low profile in Jordan yet Hamzah has to be supportive of both because one is his mother and one is the King and he is, for now, King in waiting.

They do seem to be scattered all over the world. I think some of Noor's children are in the US and Haya is with her new husband; I don't know where the rest are--Abir might be in Washington DC. King Hussein was definitely the bond and I don't see KA picking up those reins by bringing everyone together. There was a time when KH's mother Queen Zein was alive and it was expected that every Sunday, all her children and their children would come to her house. It's a shame. Perhaps KH overestimated Abdullah's loyalty to his wishes and willlingness to ensure Noor was treated well.

I guess time will tell.

[tipper]

Originally posted by maryshawn@Jun 13th, 2004 - 8:45 pm


There was a time when KH's mother Queen Zein was alive and it was expected that every Sunday, all her children and their children would come to her house. It's a shame.

Sunday is a working day for Muslims ! Well, I heard Ali and Hamzah don't get along , but ali and Hashim are quite close.

[sommone]

Well, I heard Ali and Hamzah don't get along , but ali and Hashim are quite close.

Hmm, I wonder why that is? I mean all siblings argue and fight at some point.

[cut1me]

i heard they were all close. I think it was Ali who once said they are like a hand, 5 brothers...if people are nice to them then they are all nice but if someone is mean to any of them they become a fist. some kind of unity
Im not sure if those were the exact words, it was something like that

[Lalla Meriem]

The siblings seem to get along quite well. I wouldn't say they get along with the spouses, though.

There has always been fractions in the Hashemite family.

[sommone]

Originally posted by cut1me@Jun 14th, 2004 - 4:49 am
i heard they were all close. I think it was Ali who once said they are like a hand, 5 brothers...if people are nice to them then they are all nice but if someone is mean to any of them they become a fist. some kind of unity
Im not sure if those were the exact words, it was something like that

I think that was in the interview that they did with King Abdullah where he disguises himself, along with Ali, and they intermingle with the Jordanian people. I forgot all about that.

[Amoula]

Originally posted by cut1me@Jun 14th, 2004 - 3:49 am
i heard they were all close. I think it was Ali who once said they are like a hand, 5 brothers...if people are nice to them then they are all nice but if someone is mean to any of them they become a fist. some kind of unity
Im not sure if those were the exact words, it was something like that

yep thats what ali said and MENT

[tipper]

I doubt Ali would ever say that he can't stand Hamzah, I suppose Ali is jealous as Hamzah was Dad's boy, the apple of his eyes, and the fact that Hamzah was appointed CP 5 years ago , though he's younger than Ali , well, that may have hurt Ali.......

[papillon]

Originally posted by tipper@Jun 15th, 2004 - 4:38 pm
I doubt Ali would ever say that he can't stand Hamzah, I suppose Ali is jealous as Hamzah was Dad's boy, the apple of his eyes,  and the fact that Hamzah was  appointed  CP 5 years ago  , though he's younger than Ali , well, that may have hurt Ali.......

Yes, and I also think one also has to factor in that what is said publicly isn't always what is the case privately. Only an idiot would unload his/her true feelings about specific family members to the press. It's a lovely metaphor, but I'm sure the five fingers of the hand don't always operate in concert.

[bjanka66]

well who cares if they fight,all siblings do and at the end of the day they still care for each other,jealousy ,envying and stuff like that is normal but they still love each other in good times and bad times ,they're family.
and also blablablablabla ,tralala,shut it ,yup,aha :woot:

[heyyyy]

Regarding this topic i think that all of king hussein's children love eachother some may be closer to certain ones than others...but at the end of the day it was probably King hussein(allah yirhamou- may he rest in peace) used to bring them closer together- maybe at family gatherings and so on.

[bethan16]

Abdullah (PMuna's son) and Iman (QNoor's daughter) are close - his daughter PIman is named for her aunt.....

[tipper]

yep, though KH did neglect Hayah and Ali since he had married Lisa, aka QN, that's what Ali told in an int back in 1993, when he was living in Aqaba with his sis- and, of course, Hamzah can't forget that both Ali and Hayah do dislike his mum..... I wonder if Hamzah and KA are really that close, don't know why ,but I think KA is so much closer to Ali than to Hamzah....... if you have read his int to NY Times dated 1999, KA stated that it was up to Hamzah not to repeat their uncle's mistakes and so to stay CP....... Hamzah replied that his own future was in HM's hands who was both his older bro and his King- I do think Hamzah is very smart , look at whom he got married to, he does want to be King one day, even if he must sacrifice his love for his mum, anyway, I always had a feeling that he did deeply love his dad ,not so much his mum, they are never seen together anywhere , I think Iman and Raiyah are close to QN, not so much her 2 sons.

[sommone]

Wow, I at least thought that King Hussein would have taken more time with Haya and Ali, granted I know that he was probably always busy, but they were kids who didn't have a mother, whereas the others did. I wonder if they chose to live with their grandmother, or if they were sent packing? Poor things.

[shelley]

Immediately after their mothe's death, they spent a lot of time with P. Hassan and P. Sarvath and with their mother's family. Q. Noor tried to lessen the contacts as she obviously felt it undermined her relationship , but eventually it resulted in them both being sent to boarding school in England at a young age.

[sommone]

Truely sad...I bet QNoor would be spitting fire if the tables had been turned...See that is what makes me not really care for her. I mean sure it was the beginning of their marriage, and granted she'd never been a mother before, but to just ship them off like that. I can't believe His Majesty would allow them to leave. I know she had to have known there would be some challenges because she knew he had eight other kids. When you marry a person who has children from previous relationships, you not only marry that person, you gain children as well.

[Banadoora]

I've written in here about this before, but I recall while reading QN's book that she was close to Queen Alia's children before and during the first years of her marriage to KH. She spent a lot of time with them while she was seeing King Hussein. She later talked about the older children, most likely Princess Muna's children, having some problems with her and their father. She said that the teenage children were affected too. The teenage children would most likely have been Ali, Haya and Abir since it was quite a few years into her marriage.

She also wrote about a certain moment in time when King Hussein was taking a walk with P Hamzah and P Hashem. She called them her three men, which obvioulsy excluded P Ali. I got the feeling from reading this that she wasn't as close to Queen Alia's children as she once was.

I'm thinking that something must've happened between her and KH's children.


As far as the children themselves are concerned, they all seem to get along. I'm sure they have their little scraps here and there but they seem ok with each other.