Queen Noor Interviews & Articles

[Amina]

Thought i would post this interview with QN done in 2003 from Englands Daily Telegraph saturday magazine. FEEL FREE TO POST ANY OTHER ARTICLES ETC THAT U HAVE ON QN

THE KING AND I



American-born Queen Noor gained a unique insight into the Middle East crisis during her 21-year marriage to the late King Hussein of Jordan. Now she has written a book about their search for peace, and how she continues the quest in her husband’s memory.



By Jessica Berens



Photograph by Jeremy Murch



It is a cup of tea, a silver tray and chandelier. It is a white sofa, a discreet house in Knightsbridge and a queen, the former Queen of Jordan to be exact. She sits gracefully, straight-backed on a straight-backed chair in front of me. I am quite deep in the sofa, and getting all the time, through no fault of my own. Drowning in velvety depths, the questions emerge, muffled from behind a line of cushions which, imbued with a life of their won, seem to be conspiring to push me further under…My feet leave the floor. I sued to want t o marry a psychiatrist, I tell her. But now I would an osteopath. She chuckles. She knows what it is like. She has just finished editing her book on a computer, and the pains in her neck have been something else. Official protocol calls for ‘Your Majesty’, but, she says, ‘I usually tell people, “That’s such a mouthful. Call me Queen Noor.”’



There are some of the effects one might expect: a uniformed maid, a thin ‘executive assistant’, an atmosphere of discreet respect; ‘Her majesty is stuck in traffic,’ I have been told, but now she is here: no crow, of course, but no make-up either; no mask to enhance the personage, or hide it. She is, at 51, chic in black, and tall enough, at around 6ft, to encourage one that the Queen of England, when visiting Jordan, did not like standing next to her for fear of appearing short. Queen Noor has lamented the world’s obsession with her appearance; in the past it has made her feel like a ‘useless accessory’, but I’m afraid that is what the world is like, especially when gazing on royalty. And to gaze on this particular royalty is to find it hard to imagine as the former child she ahs described – shy, awkward, with eyes squinting behind Coke-bottle glasses. It is also hard to imagine this groomed and lovely dignitary talking in a dolphin voice to her late husband, King Hussein of Jordan. Theirs was a romance of a 21-year long marriage, and though he died of cancer in 1999, her everyday life is still sustained by the memory of his ‘faith and optimism’. Now she has written a book and, she says, he is ‘the hero’ of it. Leap of Faith – Memoirs of an Unexpected Life is a lucid and detailed account of her life from her birth, as Lisa Najeeb Halaby, in America, to his death. Often critical of America (whose politicians and diplomats are, in general, documented as embarrassing bullies), and pro-Palestinian in its outlook, the memoir is clear and honest, though it seems as interested in celebrating the life of King Hussein as safeguarding the security of a vulnerable country where a destabilised monarchy could have serious socio-economic consequences.



Lisa Halaby met the King of Jordan after her father, Najeeb Halaby, an airline executive, introduced them in Jordan in 1976. Two years later they started dating; watching Peter Sellers videos, hanging out in the palace – that kind of thing. He smiled a lot and was funny; it was not difficult out fall in love with him. ‘I wish he was sitting her with me,’ she says. ‘He would tell the stories much better than I am.’ She was 26, and he was 42; he was two inches shorter than her, so there was a lot of chat about all that. She was self-contained person, and very reserved, having weathered her perfectionist Arab-American father and her Swedish-American mother Doris, between whom marital tensions were so great that, at one point, their teenage daughter begged them to get a divorce Lisa and her younger brother and sister were moved between California, New Your and Washington; she has described a childhood in which she always felt the outsider, constantly crippled with shyness, and was so aloof that her mother took her to a child psychologist who told them she would grow out it, which she did not.



She is still driven, she admits, by a feeling of low self-worth, the legacy of a demanding distant father. ‘To the day I did I won’t feel adequate,’ she says. ‘It’s not that it eats away at me every moment of every day, but I do feel it every day. I feel that every day I should do better and that every moment should be productive.’



King Hussein, meanwhile, had lost his third wife Alia in a helicopter crash in 1977, and had three children between the ages of two and five. There were another five elder children living with their two mothers, King Hussein’s former wives. And, though Lisa was well aware of the potential difficulties of this marriage (the fact that she was an American being one of many of them), like any other fiancée she allowed love, idealism and optimism to override her misgivings. Eighteen days after his proposal she accepted. She converted to Islam and he named her Noor, Light of Hussein. As the leader of a tiny, poor autocracy, with no oil and sitting nervously next to Israel, King Hussein knew what it was to be embroiled in the violence of relentless Middle Eastern turmoil, and the personal risks that this entailed. He had already survived several assassination attempts, and at the age of 16 had watched as his grandfather, King Abdullah, was murdered in front of him. The assassin, who stepped out from behind a pillar at a mosque in Jerusalem, shot the old man, and then shot at Hussein, whose life was saved only because the bullet ricocheted off the medal that his grandfather had insisted he wear that morning.

[Amina]

King Hussein carried a gun and hired the best security force in the world. He had to. He had to live behind armoured glass, and so did Noor. Blonde, beautiful, gleaming-toothed, privately educated (at Chapin in New York, and Concord Academy in Massachusetts) and well-connected, she had graduated form Princeton. Her only mishaps had been a mugging in New York and falling off her horse a couple of times. ‘I always felt completely safe in Jordan and around Jordanians,’ she says. ‘The fear that we both had was for the impact of generalised violence on people in the region, but the one thing that joined the two of us and blossomed in my life with him was the utter conviction that you have to live beyond yourself. You cannot let your won feelings and fear dominate your life, or you can accomplish nothing for anyone else.’



After a long struggle against cancer which began in 1992, King Hussein died in February 1999. He had devoted his life to tireless diplomacy and peace initiative’s, and in 1998 his efforts were acknowledged with a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. He had, according to one foreign correspondent, ‘veered unnervingly between disaster and recovery’; having lost eh West Bank and Jerusalem to Israel during the Six Day War in 1967, he became the Arab leader generally seen as a ‘wise elder statesman who was genuinely loved – a rarity in a region of dictators who rule by force’. As Hussein lay dying at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, and the question of the succession became a central issue, intrigue and speculation placed the various wives at each others’ throats, jostling for power on behalf of their progeny. The picture was of tiaras on and nails out. The king’s bother, Crown Prince Hassan, had been nominated as his successor in 1965, but was shockingly and abruptly removed at the last minute and replaced by Abdullah, Hussein’s son by his British-born wife, Princess Muna, the former Antoinette Gardiner from whom he was divorced in 1972. Queen Noor’s eldest son, Hamzah now 22, was appointed Crown Prince. Angered and hurt by the destructive rumours that he saw as being perpetrated by Prince Hassan’s followers, King Hussein wrote a public letter to his brother which, released to the media, highlighted their political differences and the ‘slandering and falsehoods’ that had ‘offended’ his family and ‘given me many sleepless nights while I was on my sickbed.’



‘Leap of Faith’ is not a royal pot boiler, and there are no pictures of ludicrous parties with Elton John; that she never wanted; she is not a silly woman, and neither was she motivated by money. Her model was the Washington Post heiress Katherine Graham’s autobiography, Personal History, which says Noor, ‘effectively developed the sense of the texture of history and culture and society, and was a book that was about much more than her’. In a process that lasted more than two years, Queen Noor compiled her book form the journals that she ahs kept throughout her life, and form interviews that ensure that various conversations and memories were recorded accurately. The final result is devoid of cattiness, or gossip – and it is sparing of any cr9iticism of Jordan’s conservative social infrastructure, where the media is state run and where political power stays in the hands of an unelected elite.



‘There has been a great deal of misunderstanding of my husband’s policies over a period of time. He never relied on public relations, he simply believed that the merit of your efforts is what endures. I thought there was a story to tell – about a search for peace in the Middle East – and about our culture and Islam, which is not well understood, especially in Western countries and particularly in the United States. Most of my marriage had been spent, amongst other things trying to bridge that gap.’



The family had some say in the content of the book; here children, she says, had access to it; and she showed the final draft to King Abdullah and some of his advisers. ‘I like him very much and I respect him,’ she says. ‘Jordan is an excruciatingly difficult position, and I had no desire to add to his burdens. I know what the burdens are almost better than anyone – I lived with them for so long. I felt that I had nothing to hide. I am frank about King Hussein’s willingness to explore every possible avenue for peace in the Middle East – and also it is very clear that he never compromised or betrayed the Palestinians or any Arab. A number of people had a variety of opinions on various aspects of it – we had a lot of spirited discussions that raised interesting issues about truth and fact and objectivity.



‘One member of the family said people aren’t ready for the truth yet, but I don’t believe we can advance or achieve any measure of peace or security if we are not willing to be as objective as possible about our history and learn from it as we develop the future.’



Alluding to the ‘constant barrage of tales’ that fermented around the accession, Queen Noor comments very little in the book, except to say that they were devastating to her children. Abdullah, she writes, was a natural choice. ‘He had risen to the rank of Major General in the Jordanian Army’s elite Special Forces, which would ensure him the critical support of the military, especially the loyal Bedouin.’ The King told her that Hamzah, then 19, ‘would be eaten by the lions’.



‘Contrary to the media reports that I had been pressuring my husband to name Hamzah his successor – I had been advocating all along that Hamzah should have an opportunity to attend university and develop his intellectual interests and talents.’

Abdullah, meanwhile, was surprised to find himself in the hot seat, and a hot seat it undoubtly is. The new king had, according to Queen Noor, always assumed that Hamzah would be his father’s choice of successor. He told her that his

[Amina]

plan was to assume responsibilities for about 20 years and then hand them over to the new Crown Prince. Queen Noor’s story reveals clearly the day-to-day reality of life spent on the edge of a war zone, and of living with a driven statesman who could not be subjected to more stress that he had already. At one point, when her stepchildren were teenagers, and hostile, family life became very difficult. Unable to worry her husband, who was dealing with far more dangerous hostilities, she spent some months feeling inadequate and alone, and thinking that she could not endure it any longer. She was able to get through trails such as these by looking to her husband as an example of one who focused beyond himself and whose patience and faith were inspirational. And she says, ‘Humour helped us through a lot of situations.’ Their relationship was ‘completely honest and open and free’. It has been a life whose demands have ranged from kidnap threats, to surviving the Gulf War, to raising a family of seven children, three of whom lost their won mother, to conserving the Oryx, and to knowing what to say to Mr and Mrs Gaddafi at dinner (‘They were a delightful and charming couple’).



Life at the Al Nadwa palace in Jordan’s capital of Amman must have been unnerving (mornings were often shattered by the sonic boom of Israeli warplanes exhibiting their military superiority), but it was informal. ‘Queen Elizabeth and the Sultan of Brunei would sometime pass by a jumble of tricycles on their way to the front door.’ She writes. A menagerie of pets included several cats, a gazelle, a panther and a Myna bird with a sore throat. The black Labrador, Jazz, meanwhile (a present from the Grand duke of Luxembourg), would run off and swim towards the Israel border, at which point gunboats would sail out to challenge him.



Queen Noor will make herself available to sell her book, at some personal risk – risk of which she is aware. She is an author whose public will necessarily require an armed guard, and whose work will attract further inspection of her personal life. She has become more accustomed to this, but when she first arrived in the public eye, the surrender of her privacy was one of the most difficult sacrifices to make; her husband was accustomed to being surrounded by an entourage but, at first, she could hardly bare the constant presence of officers and guards. One of the clearest vignettes in her book is the description of their honeymoon in Scotland, where she and her husband had to resort to the bathroom as ‘the only place where we could talk with complete freedom’.



Her present life is spent between Jordan, England and Washington, ‘triangulating’ as she puts it. She is fond of their estate outside Windsor, as happy times have been spent there, and the garden was loved by her husband; Washington is an ‘ideal advocacy base’, and Jordan is where Hamzah, having been educated at Sandhurst, must fulfil his duties as a Crown Prince. Her second son, Prince Hashim, 22, is at university in America, and her daughters, Princess Iman, 20, and Princess Raiyah, 17, are finishing their education in England. ‘They want to serve their country in any way they can,’ she says. ‘I encourage them to see there are a multitude of options.’ Once her book has been launched, Queen Noor hopes to ‘simplify’ her life. ‘I love to just let my hair down,’ she says. ‘Would she like to ‘disappear’, I wonder. ‘There are times when I yearn to,’ she replies. ‘I hope to have a little time off, but whether I will allow myself to…I am still involved in a number of organisations in whose work I believe passionately. They are pretty much focused on peace – and those issues are becoming more important, rather than less. I don’t feel I have a choice.’ She helms a dizzying number of development programmes, committees, foundations and humanitarian causes – refugees, children, landmines, peace, food; this is her realm.



Still, the pleasures of riding and sailing and skiing are attractive. She also appreciates that a person who is relaxed is a person who has time for creative, ‘and you can’t schedule that’.



She likes to be physically active and goes to a gym every day if she can. Working out, she says, keeps her body strong and her ‘spirits up’.



Does she worry about the effects of the ageing process, the difficulties of looking in the mirror as time passes on? ‘I have never approached age with trepidation. You don’t enjoy it, but on the other hand, I’m quickly drawn into things which don’t allow me to think about it. I hope to live gracefully with all the wrinkles – I think it would be more difficult for me if my knee gave out because I enjoy tennis and skiing.’

Queen Noor, I announce. More Worried About Her Knees Than Her Face. A deep chuckle. ‘Please don’t make that your headline,’ she says softly.



©The Daily Telegaph, 8th March 2003.

[Reina]

Wow. Thanks for the article.

[tipper]

Hi, I'd like to post a few articles about QN, and some about the succession issue, such as "The Battle of the wives" or " Hussein's Heir"- hope to understand how to post an article here-:) :)

[tipper]

The previous link- A Queen- is part of the chapter about QN, in the G. Brooks' book " Nine parts of a desire "-

[maryshawn]

These are all great! Thanks. Very insightful.

[Amina]

Here's another interview QN did in 1996 for the Daily Telegraph:

Issue 563 The DailyTelegraph

Saturday 7 December 1996

Queen as working girl

Queen Noor of Jordan has achieved the improbable - she's a dutiful Arab wife who says what she thinks. But the former Sixties radical admits to Helena de Bertodano that it wasn't easy at first

A FEW years ago, as Queen Noor was racing out of her Washington hotel to give her first political speech, the phone rang. "It was my husband. He said: 'I've just realised the position I've put you in and I've taken a Valium.' And for the first time I got very nervous because I thought: 'My goodness, if he's feeling nervous. . .' "

The speech, at Georgetown University, was a success, if a surprise. "It went down as a bit of a shock because the assumption was I would be talking about fluff - The Washington Post sent a style section reporter to cover it."

Since that day, Queen Noor has assumed an increasingly political role, becoming a spokeswoman in the maelstrom of the Middle East for the tiny desert Hashemite kingdom she adopted upon her marriage to King Hussein of Jordan in 1978. She has sought to prove herself as hardworking and serious, fighting to correct the original tabloid impression of her, as she puts it, as an "imperious, frivolous, irresponsible jet-setter".

Last week she was in England to address the Cambridge Union on the Middle East peace process. Dressed in a severe pinstripe trouser-suit, it was clear she meant business. Her speech was articulate, even entertaining at times, and she coped well with the questions - some of them tortuous - put to her by the undergraduates.

The role of Queen Noor al-Hussein (her name means "Light of Hussein") is unprecedented in every way. As the first American-born queen of an Arab Muslim country, she has shared some of the duties of her husband to an extent unheard-of in the region and even elsewhere in the world. "At that time you wouldn't have found any other non-elected wife of a head of state speaking out on any of the political issues that [my husband] has encouraged me to speak out on. . . The only person who has really come close is Mrs Clinton."

Although the Jordanian royal family prides itself on its accessibility, this does not necessarily include the media. Organising an interview with Queen Noor is a complicated business - partly because she is surrounded by the usual hullabaloo of royal protocol and partly because she is so busy.

After weeks of negotiation, I had arranged to interview her during her visit to England. My questions were vetted through several stages - I was strongly encouraged not to ask anything of a personal nature - and I was interviewed at length by her press secretary. Hoping that the Queen herself would be more relaxed, I had gone along with the process.

The morning of the proposed meeting dawned and still I had no idea when, where, or even whether, it would take place. Eventually the phone rang and I was told to get myself to a central London hotel where a car would collect me and take me to Her Majesty's house in the country - on one condition. For security reasons, on no account was I to reveal where her house was located or anything about it - not its shape, its colour or anything about its internal decoration. "You can say it's in England if you like," her press officer said.

On our arrival the photographer, his assistant and I are hurried through the building into a spacious sitting-room. It is 11.30am and we are told that Her Majesty will greet us at noon. We are left with a bowl of nuts and some Arabic coffee. Midday passes, then 1pm then 1.30. Various characters drift in and out.

After two hours, we have registered every detail of the room but are reminded once again to reveal nothing. "Can I just say there's a xxxxx?" I ask the press officer. "No," she says. "Can I say 'Her Majesty sat on a sofa' - if she does?" Permission is granted.

Eventually, soon after 1.30, Her Majesty slips unobtrusively into the room through a side door. No one accompanies her. Dressed in a pistachio-coloured soft-wool twinset, knee-length skirt and high heels, she is slim and elegant with firmly lacquered hair, these days of a darker blonde. She is effusively apologetic. "My son arrived from the United States at five in the morning for a small break from school," she says, in her strong American accent. "He was just beginning to surface from his jet-lag when you arrived and I thought you would probably understand that I would want to start the day with him. . . "We move to the table - not the sofa - for the interview. A silent minion delivers pineapple juice and a plate of raw vegetables. Instead of insisting on the list of prepared questions, Queen Noor allows a normal conversation, focusing on her work but also permitting discussion of her family and her feelings.

Only 26 at her marriage, she inherited eight stepchildren and a way fo life that was completely alien to her. I ask her how she managed to adapt: "I didn't think about it too much. I followed my instincts and my husband showed enormous confidence in me and just set me free. On occasion, in the early days, I would seek out a little bit of guidance and he would say: 'I have complete trust in you.' "I suggest to her that this may be the best way of learning; she looks slightly doubtful. "It's a rough way of learning because you learn everything on your own in the hard way and, in my case, there was no structure and no guidance, and no very specific and rigid code of conduct or protocol. . . I began by establishing an office just after I married. Having always been a working woman, it seemed to be a natural and logical first step. But it was unheard-of."

Although much is made of her all-American upbringing, the former Lisa Halaby does, in fact, have Arab roots. Her father, who served in the Kennedy Administration and is the former President of Pan American World Airways, is of Syrian descent. Because of the nature of his work, the family moved often as Lisa, the eldest of three children, was growing up.

"We were a relatively normal, moderately dysfunctional late-20th-century family. We were not terribly, terribly close. On the other hand we were not the other extreme either. Because there were so many moves and changes in our lives, we learned to adapt in different ways. . . I had to become self-reliant, I had to be able to move between different communities and to fall back on my own individual resources. . . I grew up with a very strong set of values and work ethic."

Her childhood imbued her with a resilience that has served her well in subsequent years. Intelligent and independent, she passionately espoused the causes of her time, demonstrating against the Vietnam War and marching with Martin Luther King.

After her graduation from Princeton University, where she studied architecture and urban planning, she left the United States, first to work for an architectural firm in Australia and then for a British firm which was re-planning the city of Teheran. "I had a rich and diverse working experience before I married. . . so when I began my life with my husband and his family, I already had an identity of my own. . . I could feel secure in myself and not dependent and helpless."

She met King Hussein, who had ruled the kingdom since she was one year old, while working in Jordan on a blueprint for an Arab air university. His third wife, Queen Alia, beloved to the king and the country, had recently been killed in an air crash, and at first her replacement was viewed with some suspicion. Seemingly overconfident, Queen Noor was criticised by the more conservative elements of Jordanian society. I ask her if she responded by just getting on with the job in hand, realising that she could not please everyone all the time?

"Yes," she laughs. "I've actually said it in those words, sometimes even a little bit more colourfully."

Nevertheless, I prompt, she must have found it all very isolating at times. "I was used to being on my own and that was excellent preparation, because otherwise I could have felt very isolated and very cut-off and even under siege at times. . . "

[Amina]

It is hard to convey the extent of her work. Her entry in International Who's Who does not even attempt to list all of the dozens of organisations for which she works, simply mentioning her "numerous" honorary doctorates and awards for promotion of environmental conservation and awareness, the economic and social development of women, children and communities, cross-cultural exchange, international understanding and world peace.

Of course, this could mean anything. She could be little more than a nominal figurehead, sitting at home polishing her nails all day and grazing through the occasional grand lunch. In fact, she describes herself as a workaholic, taking virtually no holidays and often working an 18-hour day. "Our lives are pretty dull by comparison to what people would like to think. I really do spend a disproportionate amount of time sitting at a desk. . . There are times when I worry - what's that expression? - 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'. That often runs through my mind when I'm thinking of how my family and my friends are looking at me, never having time to see them. . ."

No one these days doubts her dedication and commitment to Jordan

Now 45 and the mother of four children, she still works incessantly. I ask her whether she ever craves an hour to herself. "Yes," she admits bluntly, "but even if it means that I am overworked and unfit and even a frustrated - well, a less than ideal - parent, I feel that I'm far more fortunate to be able to be involved as I am and I feel and I hope and I pray that that is also going to be of greater benefit to my children. It has been of immeasurable benefit to the quality of my marriage as well and the partnership, if you will, that my husband and I have. So it's less than ideal in many respects, and not entirely comfortable much of the time, but I feel while I have the physical energy and the intellectual resources that I should use them to the maximum."

No one these days doubts her dedication and commitment to Jordan. The Gulf War, while temporarily damaging King Hussein's reputation in the West due to his refusal to condemn Saddam Hussein, actually soldered Queen Noor's position. Despite her background, there was no question that she would support the US stance and she earned respect as a woman loyal both to her husband and her country.

There is no false modesty about Queen Noor. She is well aware of the impact she has had on her adopted country. "I am very gratified that some of the initial efforts I made, however unconventional for a person in my position, have become a part of the fabric of the country."

The Noor al-Hussein Foundation occupies most of her time. Through it she oversees development projects, many of them addressing the causes of poverty and unemployment. It seems that she is driven not only by a desire to "make a positive difference" but also by a determination to prove to Jordanians that she deserves her role. If she projects a slightly over-saintly, formidably serious image at times, it seems to be a price she is prepared to pay. "Having been raised in the United States, I felt that my title and my position within the Royal Family was a responsibility, not an entitlement."

So you felt you needed to earn your place? "I certainly felt I needed to earn it. I always will feel that way. That's just the way I was brought up."

Feeling almost ashamed to draw any comparison between this sober monarch and some of the more colourful elements of our own Royal Family, I wonder aloud how she has managed to avoid the pitfalls to which her British counterparts have been prone. She accepts the analogy with dignity, carefully choosing her words. "The celebrity component is nowhere near as strong in our society, simply because the nature of the struggle of our country. . . is so compelling."

[maryshawn]

Excellent articles! In "The King and I," she mentions something about KA telling her he would rule for 20 years than hand over the throne???? That seems an odd thing to say; he knew--everyone knew--an absolute ruler isn't an interim ruler. And his change in the succession meant if he told her this, he was either being disingenuous or didn't really weigh his words carefully as he hadn't thought it through..... Just found that part hard to swallow.

[Amina]

Yes, i agree with you. It was inevitable that KA would pass on the throne to his son - Hussein. I think he just said that to QN to placate her and make her happy. An interesting quote her from QR, when interviewed by Hello this year:

Last November, your husband decided to relieve his younger brother Hamzah of the title of Crown Prince. Was this to pave the way so that your son Hussein can succeed him?

Prince Hamzah is a highly accomplished young man. My husband and I hold him in the highest regard. His father, King Hussein, realised that it is only the person who is in the position of King that can decide who will be the best successor because it depends on the circumstances and the climate at the time. My husband wanted to do the right thing and keep it open for whoever is best to do the job. I think each one of his brothers and hopefully his son have their own contributions to make to Jordan and, when the time is right, he will make the right decision.
In other words - they are keeping the throne open for their son, this is only natural. Rania doesn't really answer the question here - does she?

WHAT DO U ALL THINK?

[closesttoheaven]

Originally Posted by Amina

Yes, i agree with you. It was inevitable that KA would pass on the throne to his son - Hussein. I think he just said that to QN to placate her and make her happy. An interesting quote her from QR, when interviewed by Hello this year:

Last November, your husband decided to relieve his younger brother Hamzah of the title of Crown Prince. Was this to pave the way so that your son Hussein can succeed him?

Prince Hamzah is a highly accomplished young man. My husband and I hold him in the highest regard. His father, King Hussein, realised that it is only the person who is in the position of King that can decide who will be the best successor because it depends on the circumstances and the climate at the time. My husband wanted to do the right thing and keep it open for whoever is best to do the job. I think each one of his brothers and hopefully his son have their own contributions to make to Jordan and, when the time is right, he will make the right decision.
In other words - they are keeping the throne open for their son, this is only natural. Rania doesn't really answer the question here - does she?

WHAT DO U ALL THINK?

i agree - surely they keep it open for little hussein.
her answer is a political answer.saying something without saying something.but everyone knows what it means.
so i think.

[maryshawn]

I know she's also said making Prince Hussein aware he could be King someday was tantamount "to child abuse." Jordan is a small country; even at his comparatively young age, he must be aware of the position, the changes in succession, etc. My young daughter, who is just a year younger than PH, picks up on everything. QR parsed this well; saying something by saying almost nothing--I just can't believe little Prince Hussein is totally unaware of the fact he may someday be King if things stay as they are now. I sometimes wonder if KA made the change to protect QR from going the way of QN......a Queen in name only really with no real ties to the throne. Queen Mother is more important than Queen Dowager or whatever QN is now.

[Reina]

SO in effect what QR is saying that PHamzah was not good enough?

[maryshawn]

In an odd way, if you really try and read her rather convoluted statement, it seems that's the underlying message. But, in reality, she's acting like a mom who wants her son to be the heir IMO. I think she'd be better off not even addressing the issue as nothing she says is going to come off the right way because she can't simply say "look, we want our son to be King someday." I understand this would set off a firestorm of criticism so that's why she isn't more forthright but since she can't be totally honest and clear, she would be better off just not talking about Hamzah at all. Just my thoughts on the whole matter.....

[maryshawn]

She is still driven, she admits, by a feeling of low self-worth, the legacy of a demanding distant father. ‘To the day I did I won’t feel adequate,’ she says. ‘It’s not that it eats away at me every moment of every day, but I do feel it every day. I feel that every day I should do better and that every moment should be productive.’

I've re-read this more than a few times and find it very sad.. to be driven by feelings of low self-worth....and "to the day, I won't feel adequate." Her father must have been a real tyrant to instill this sense of low esteem and enough isn't ever good enough in his intelligent, poised, pretty daughter. And to still have to be dealing with it as age 45....well, that's got to be hard and at this point impossible to overome. It's not uncommon for a parent to place high standards for his/her eldest child but this is so extreme. No one can have every moment be a productive one!

She was one of the first woman in the mixed gender class at Princeton, she had the wisdom to take time off to reconsider her priorities, she went off to lead a life which had to be challenging and totally foreign at a young age then became a Queen. How much more can one expect of one's child--and what was he thinking? She's accomplished a lot in her life and still has a lot of life to live. QN has been criticized, even by herself, for not paying enough attention to her children and putting her husband first. Given her background, it makes sense; she was emulating her own upbringing and her parent's divorce traumatized her so much I can't blame her for wanting to stay close to KH at all times.

[closesttoheaven]

Originally Posted by maryshawn

She is still driven, she admits, by a feeling of low self-worth, the legacy of a demanding distant father. ‘To the day I did I won’t feel adequate,’ she says. ‘It’s not that it eats away at me every moment of every day, but I do feel it every day. I feel that every day I should do better and that every moment should be productive.’

I've re-read this more than a few times and find it very sad.. to be driven by feelings of low self-worth....and "to the day, I won't feel adequate." Her father must have been a real tyrant to instill this sense of low esteem and enough isn't ever good enough in his intelligent, poised, pretty daughter. And to still have to be dealing with it as age 45....well, that's got to be hard and at this point impossible to overome. It's not uncommon for a parent to place high standards for his/her eldest child but this is so extreme. No one can have every moment be a productive one!

She was one of the first woman in the mixed gender class at Princeton, she had the wisdom to take time off to reconsider her priorities, she went off to lead a life which had to be challenging and totally foreign at a young age then became a Queen. How much more can one expect of one's child--and what was he thinking? She's accomplished a lot in her life and still has a lot of life to live. QN has been criticized, even by herself, for not paying enough attention to her children and putting her husband first. Given her background, it makes sense; she was emulating her own upbringing and her parent's divorce traumatized her so much I can't blame her for wanting to stay close to KH at all times.

gosh, that's really so sad.
maybe that's the reason i like her so much. it's not because of pity, it's because she is such a strong woman!

and... i sometimes i thought that KH maybe anyway could be a substitute for her father. cause, she was so young, and he so old. maybe she searched a father. but, thats only a thought, im sure she really loved him as much as she can and it doesnt really matter in which way.