Crown Prince Hamzah relieved of his title: November 28, 2004

[Safaa Batin]

Oh our dear prince hamzah, we are so sad, we know that you would have been a wonderful king. I think you know now how P. Hassan had felt someday. I hope it won't be so hard.

 

[Alexandria]

I'm really disappointed in King Abdullah for completely disregarding his dying father's wishes and stripping Hamzah of his role as Crown Prince and future King. It's not surprising that he has chosen to grant the title to his own son, but it is disappointing, especially since it seemed to me that Hamzah had real potential and a sincere earnestness about him to do well for the Jordanian people. And his wife Noor seemed like someone who would be able to help him achieve these things, rather than being someone who hop scotched around the world in designer clothes, but someone who would take on the sort of responsibilities Queen Noor did in her last decade as Queen.

I wonder how much time it will take before the role of Crown Prince is not merely an "honourable position" again, but one with real power and responsibilities.

The part about allowing Hamzah greater freedom because the role of CP hindered him is a load of crock, if you ask me. If it is such a burden to bear, why pass such a burden onto your very own son? Couldn't King Abdullah have come up with a better reason to outst his brother?

This whole matter reeks of a power play to outst Queen Noor and her family out of Jordan, not merely out of being in position of power in the far future.

I wonder if there is some jealousy on King Abdullah and Queen Rania's part that within the next decade, had Hamzah remained Crown Prince, he and Noor would've gained in their popularity as they took on more work within Jordan and started their own family.

Everyday I loose a bit more respect for this King and Queen and their various shenanigans.

 

[bluetortuga]

I'm really disappointed in King Abdullah for completely disregarding his dying father's wishes and stripping Hamzah of his role as Crown Prince and future King. It's not surprising that he has chosen to grant the title to his own son, but it is disappointing, especially since it seemed to me that Hamzah had real potential and a sincere earnestness about him to do well for the Jordanian people. And his wife Noor seemed like someone who would be able to help him achieve these things, rather than being someone who hop scotched around the world in designer clothes, but someone who would take on the sort of responsibilities Queen Noor did in her last decade as Queen.

I wonder how much time it will take before the role of Crown Prince is not merely an "honourable position" again, but one with real power and responsibilities.

The part about allowing Hamzah greater freedom because the role of CP hindered him is a load of crock, if you ask me. If it is such a burden to bear, why pass such a burden onto your very own son? Couldn't King Abdullah have come up with a better reason to outst his brother?

This whole matter reeks of a power play to outst Queen Noor and her family out of Jordan, not merely out of being in position of power in the far future.

I wonder if there is some jealousy on King Abdullah and Queen Rania's part that within the next decade, had Hamzah remained Crown Prince, he and Noor would've gained in their popularity as they took on more work within Jordan and started their own family.

Everyday I loose a bit more respect for this King and Queen and their various shenanigans.

KA just got 30 million euros in the bank from Luxembourg. I guess he feels he has now that he has more cash, he can do whatever he wants to. It's a shame it has come to this; the truth will come out eventually.

 

[madonna23]

Do you think foreign interference had any role in this decision? Hassan is largely suspected to have been removed because he was seen as too anti-Western and the US convinced Hussein to change succession. Could such a thing have happened again?

 

[Safaa Batin]

why the threads were merged? i think i prefer to have a seperate thread for stripping hamzah to refer to it easily in the future.

 

[Julia]

I am terribly disappointed that King Abdullah disregarded the late King Hussein's dying wish. The saddest part is that Hamzah seems as though he would have made a wonderful king and his Noor a wonderful queen.

What a terrible disappointment!

What is the likelihood that King Abdullah might change his mind in the future? Also, how do people in the Middle East feel about this change in succession?

 

[sommone]

The members said it for months, and I didn't believe it, but now I do. Sad really. I don't think PA is going to be named crowned prince, I think it will go to PF. What's with this whole honorary thing? I don't understand this. I agree with whomever said better now, than years down the line, but still, it just seems wrong somehow.

 

[Safaa Batin]

The jordanian law gives Abdallah II the right to choose the crown prince.
But I feel as it was so difficult to write that message to P. Hamza ... and give reasons for his decision. I can't understand yet the honorary position of the crown prince.

the CP does not have any official duties, it is just having a promise to be a king in the future, but i do not think the position prevents him from taking other reponibilites and positions. does any body know if it is?
i think P hassan was having a title in the army when he was CP , being CP did not prevent that. and as I know the princes can not have civil positions so what are the duties to be given to Hamzah?

 

[madonna23]

all this talk about wanting to give hamzah more freedom is bogus. Abdullah is KING, for God's sake! If he wanted he could expand the role of crown prince to accomadate hamzah's desire. seriously with the money the JRF spend on public relations they could have come up with something better than this.

 

[Safaa Batin]

all this talk about wanting to give hamzah more freedom is bogus. Abdullah is KING, for God's sake! If he wanted he could expand the role of crown prince to accomadate hamzah's desire. seriously with the money the JRF spend on public relations they could have come up with something better than this.

he even does not have to expand the role , P Hassan was doing many things beside when he was CP, I don't think the CP title prevents that.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

No body knows for sure the real reason behind stripping Hamzah the title of Crown prince,I'm sure he was doin a great job and everyone knew that for sure. I can't understand either what HM ment by "I have decided to free you from the constraints of the position of Crown Prince in order to give you the
freedom to work and undertake any mission or responsibility I
entrust you with",but anyway no matter what the reason was,I hope it's for his own benefit&his own sake. (3sa an takrahu shay2an wa howa kheirun lakum). I'm still in a state of shock,nobody can believe what happend. As for who's gonna be named CP now,It's probably Prince Hussien (as the constitution states){Prince Hussien the elder son of the King will be named CP IF the king didn't name any of his brothers(and It's probably gonna be Faisal if not Hussien,or u never know maybe Ali!}

Anyway It happend sooner than we all expected,we knew this was gonna happen but at least not now,maybe after Hamzah and Noor have their first child! Anyway Again,Whether he's the crown prince or isn't , he's still Hamzah bin-Al Hussien,Who we love dearly and will always love dearly and I'm sure he will always do whatever best serves the country and the King (alla yehmeek ya rub)

 

[Balqis]

Let's just wait and see for other developments to occur, like the naming of the new Crown Prince before jumping to conclusions and passing judgements on the King and Queen.

 

[Safaa Batin]

If he wanted he could expand the role of crown prince to accomadate hamzah's desire.

i've read the letter for the X time, i think that I undertood now, this is the reason:

Our beloved father King Hussein, may God rest His Soul, had
reaffirmed to us before he passed away the importance of adhering to
the honorary concept of the position of Crown Prince and we have
abided by that throughout the past five years. Your holding this
symbolic position has restrained your freedom and hindered our
trusting you with certain responsibilities that you are fully
qualified to undertake.

it was KH desire to keep the CP position as honorary (may be he did not want the case of P hassan to be repeated) and as KA could not keep it just honorary more than 5 years and wants to give P hamza duties, he stripped him from the CP position. Now it make sense for me. hopefully it will be true and we can see what responsibilties will hamzah be given, the future will tell.

 

[paloma]

Actually, this is the best thing that could ever happen to Hamzah. Given the precarious state of the region, it is best for him and his mother, brother and sisters to get as far away as possible and move on with their lives. It is better for this to have happened to him while he is young and can actually have a future versus having it happen like Hassan or the ex King of Greece Constantine. Constantine has never found a purpose in life and that is not something that I would wish on anyone.
As for Jordan and the King and Queen, I see a repeat of the Pahlavi dynasty.

 

[bluetortuga]

Actually, this is the best thing that could ever happen to Hamzah. Given the precarious state of the region, it is best for him and his mother, brother and sisters to get as far away as possible and move on with their lives. It is better for this to have happened to him while he is young and can actually have a future versus having it happen like Hassan or the ex King of Greece Constantine. Constantine has never found a purpose in life and that is not something that I would wish on anyone.
As for Jordan and the King and Queen, I see a repeat of the Pahlavi dynasty.

You have a point. P. Hamzah is now free to do whatever he wants to. I'm sure he will appear publicly within the next few days to put a good spin on KA's decision. Q Rania must be a very happy camper now. There is nothing standing between her son becoming the next King of Jordan. As for them becoming like the Pahlavis - it would be quite stupid of them to allow that to happen. After mingling with this deposed family for so many years, QR and KA still haven't gotten the message yet.
I'm sure the U.S is peeved at KA's decision now that the son of American-born Q Noor will not be King. Whatever we think, the Constitution rules, and Q Rania's son is by right the heir to the Jordanian throne. I think they just used Hamzah as convenience, but eventually what goes around comes around.

I wish P. Hamzah and P. Noor success in their endeavours. Q Rania should look at Q. Noor hope and pray that she will never end up her Q. Noor's situation - a woman without a country.

 

[bluetortuga]

The B.S. explanation given in the Jordan Times 11/29/2004:

Prince Hamzah to assume new duties

'I have decided to free you from the constraints of the position of Crown Prince in order to give you the freedom to work and undertake any mission or responsibility I entrust you with, alongside with all our brothers, the sons of Al Hussein, and other members of the Hashemite Family,' King tells Prince in letter AMMAN (JT) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday sent a letter to HRH Prince Hamzah, freeing him from the constraints of the honorary position of Crown Prince.

Following is an official translation of King Abdullah's letter to Prince Hamzah:

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate

Your Royal Highness My Dear Brother Prince Hamzah Ben Al Hussein, May God keep you,

I am pleased to extend to you my very best greetings and most sincere wishes for continued health, happiness and success, and to express my deepest affection and highest esteem to you as a brother, a Hashemite Prince and a sincere Jordanian soldier, keen to selflessly perform the call of duty.

I have known these traits in you since you started your journey of giving to our beloved country. I chose you personally five years ago from amongst all my brothers, including those who are older than you, to be Crown Prince and to be my support whenever necessary.

I have been eager since I came to the Throne of our beloved Jordan to reflect the true meaning of the position of Crown Prince as it is stated in the Constitution. This position is an honorary one that does not entail any authority or any responsibility.

Our beloved father King Hussein, may God rest his soul, had reaffirmed to us before he passed away the importance of adhering to the honorary concept of the position of Crown Prince and we have abided by that throughout the past five years.

Your holding of this symbolic position has restrained your freedom and hindered our entrusting you with certain responsibilities that you are fully qualified to undertake.

And because the country needs the efforts of each and every one of us to work with utmost energy and capability especially during these difficult circumstances which the region and our beloved Jordan are going through, I have decided to free you from the constraints of the position of Crown Prince in order to give you the freedom to work and undertake any mission or responsibility I entrust you with, alongside with all our brothers, the sons of Al Hussein, and other members of the Hashemite family.

I trust that you will be a great help and support to me and to your brothers in the service of our beloved country and our one big Jordanian family.

As for the position of Crown Prince, I will continue, guided by the Constitution and the good of our beloved Jordan and our noble Hashemite message, to give it my sincere attention.

I ask God to keep you and save you and give you success in the service of our dear country.

Peace and God's mercy and blessing be upon you

Your Brother
Abdullah Ben Al Hussein

Amman
15 Shawwal 1425 Hijri
28 November 2004

 

[bluetortuga]

I would be most interested to hear Q. Noor's reaction to this news.

Also, P. Hassan's reaction.

 

[Safaa Batin]

I am too curious to know the new duties, especially that hamzah still at school, it will take some time to start.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

I would be most interested to hear Q. Noor's reaction to this news.

dun u think KA might do the same to her?

 

[Safaa Batin]

I would be most interested to hear Q. Noor's reaction to this news.

me too , what she did to make him marrying a hashimite when he still a student gone with the wind.

dun u think KA might do the same to her?

what do you mean?

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

me too , what she did to make him marrying a hashimite when he still a student gone with the wind.

Yea he was only 19 when he was named crown prince and he spent 5 years of his life ( I must say the most beautiful 5 years of anyones life),serving and acting as A crown prince,he worked so hard and he probably didn't enjoy his time as any other guy in his age,and then when he turnewd 24 he got married,maybe u never know this wud give him the chance to spend better quality of time with his wife and his future small family,everything in this life happens for a reason...I believe in this so much.

 

[bluetortuga]

me too , what she did to make him marrying a hashimite when he still a student gone with the wind.

Do you think they will now divorce? We'll see in time whether this was a love match or a power play.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

what do you mean?

I hope not though (I ment do u think KA would strip QN her title?)

Do you think they will now divorce? We'll see in time whether this was a love match or a power play.

Of course not,I dun think so,they only have been married for a few months,and Princess Noor doesn't look like the type that wud give up on Hamzah at this time,and I dun think hamzah is that type either.

 

[Safaa Batin]

I hope not though (I ment do u think KA would strip QN her title?)

can he? but I don't think so, it was given to her by king hussain and it will be too much if he did, he will look very bad then.
But i don't know if he can do that.

Do you think they will now divorce? We'll see in time whether this was a love match or a power play.

it was said that they were in love, i think any power play was extra in addition to love.

 

[T-R-O-U-B-L-E]

it was said that they were in love, i think any power play was extra in addition to love.

Plus if they were in love the title shudn't matter!

 

[madonna23]

I don't think P. Noor will leave Hamzah. I don't think she was naive enough to think that Hamzah would actually be King one day.

I think that most of us are not surprised with the fact that Hamzah is now stripped of his title but with the timing. Many of us had already speculated that P. Hussein would inherit the throne and that it was only a matter of time. Few would have thought that it would be so soon.

What I don't understand, however, is that if Abdullah wants his son to be Crown Prince with one of his brother's acting as a "temporary" Crown Prince, why not just keep Hamzah and reduce his title? It seems Abdullah didn't just want to change succession but also kick Q. Noor and her family out of Jordan for good.

 

[paloma]

It is easier to remove him now. The longer he would wait, the more admiration and respect Hamzah could possibly attain from the Jordanians. It would then become impossible should Abdullah want the crown to go to his own son.

 

[bubbles]

I don't think P. Noor will leave Hamzah. I don't think she was naive enough to think that Hamzah would actually be King one day.

I think that most of us are not surprised with the fact that Hamzah is now stripped of his title but with the timing. Many of us had already speculated that P. Hussein would inherit the throne and that it was only a matter of time. Few would have thought that it would be so soon.

What I don't understand, however, is that if Abdullah wants his son to be Crown Prince with one of his brother's acting as a "temporary" Crown Prince, why not just keep Hamzah and reduce his title? It seems Abdullah didn't just want to change succession but also kick Q. Noor and her family out of Jordan for good.

wasn't KA close to P Iman? he named his daughter after her. I don't understand why he wants to punish QN's children. it is
not their faulty they were born. trying to get rid of them by driving them out of the country is just low...very low.

 

[Safaa Batin]

What I don't understand, however, is that if Abdullah wants his son to be Crown Prince with one of his brother's acting as a "temporary" Crown Prince, why not just keep Hamzah and reduce his title?

what do you mean by keeping hamza and reducing his title? he is either a CP or not a CP , there is no reduced form of that.

 

[madonna23]

If Abdullah wants to name Hussein as his Crown Prince he will have to name someone older than him as a temporary crown prince just in case Abdullah is assasinated or what not and Hussein is too young to take the throne.

What I'm saying is if Abdullah does want to have Hussein as Crown Prince why not let Hamzah be the temporary crown prince? Most likely we will see Prince Faisal as the temporary and Hussein as the Crown Prince. I think this shows Abdullah's fear of Q. Noor and P. Hamzah getting too powerful.