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.

 

[shelley]

I've written about this too, but I can't remember where. There is no doubt that once Q Noor had her own children, Haya and Ali took a back seat, and all in all, K. Hussein's children from his previous marriages were excluded. It was not unusual for H & A to come back from boarding school to a house without any family there. It was noticeable that whereas K. Hussein would take Hamzah with him to visit the army etc. he hardly ever took any of his older sons. It could be argued that they were away at school but there are holidays around which a visit could have occasionally be planned. P. Hamzah started attending meetings with foreign dignatories from a relatively young age. His elder brothers would not be present, even though, at least in the case of Abdullah and Feisal, they were by then adults.

 

[maryshawn]

Well, my sorrow is for Princess Haya and Prince Ali if they were edged out....Prince Ali was once the CP but KH decided shortly after Queen Alia's death, he was far too young to assume such responsibilities. I think or thought the idea was Ali would be reinstated to CP when older. I still don't know that much about him but he has endured many disappointments--that's for sure. And the fact he doesn't allow it to get him down (publicly) speaks well for him.

There's a poll out did KH make the right choice with KA? I think the question should be does KA want to be King? I see him as the kind of man who enjoyed a simpler life. His wife seems to be enjoying the position more than he does.

 

[Lalla Meriem]

I don't recall Ali ever being CP. I know Abduallah was named Crown Prince at his birth and remained so for a few years. Given the turmoil at the time it was decided that it was unwise to have a infant heir because he could be easily used as a pawn should he come to the throne at an early age. The succession was then set on Hussein's youngest brother El Hassan who remained Crown Prince until very shortly before Hussein's death. Ali may have been a deputy crown prince.

 

[bluetortuga]

Originally posted by Lalla Meriem@Jun 20th, 2004 - 8:29 am
I don't recall Ali ever being CP. I know Abduallah was named Crown Prince at his birth and remained so for a few years. Given the turmoil at the time it was decided that it was unwise to have a infant heir because he could be easily used as a pawn should he come to the throne at an early age. The succession was then set on Hussein's youngest brother El Hassan who remained Crown Prince until very shortly before Hussein's death. Ali may have been a deputy crown prince.

P Ali was deputy Crown Prince to P Hassan. K. Hussein instituted this in 1978/1979 after the birth of P. Rashid. Eventhough K Hussein was willing to leave this throne to his brother, he clearly wasnted one of his own sons to be king again. P. Ali was chosen because he was considered majority Arab. However, this is still not true because Q. Alia was Circassian, not Palestinian, as some historians have said. Q. Alia came from Circassian family who lived in Palestine.

Eventhough K. Hussein was close to Hamzah, it was Ali he had in mind for king. But Ali lost his chance when he fell into drugs, partying, and dropped out of school. K. Hussein did not feel he was responsible enough to be king.

At one point, K Hussein was not even speaking to KA (then prince) because he was partying to much and seeing too many women. But KA came around. Give Rania credit, she set him on the straight and narrow. I have no proof that KA has another woman.

 

[shelley]

I was living in Jordan when K. Hussein wrote the letter in which he asked P. Hassan to choose Ali as his successor over Abdullah and Feisal. It was before the birth of both P. Rashid and P. Hamzah and if I recall correctly it was around the time the king was about to marry Q. Noor. The situation changed when P. Rashid was born as consitutionally, there was no way that P. Hassan could nominate a nephew without changing the consititution. I still think that to play around with a constitution is no something a wise person would attempt to do in today's world, and I believe P. Hassan was put in an impossible position, whatever his personal wishes might have been.

 

[sommone]

I don't recall Ali ever being CP. I know Abduallah was named Crown Prince at his birth and remained so for a few years. Given the turmoil at the time it was decided that it was unwise to have a infant heir because he could be easily used as a pawn should he come to the throne at an early age.  The succession was then set on Hussein's youngest brother El Hassan who remained Crown Prince until very shortly before Hussein's death. Ali may have been a deputy crown prince.

P Ali was deputy Crown Prince to P Hassan. K. Hussein instituted this in 1978/1979 after the birth of P. Rashid. Eventhough K Hussein was willing to leave this throne to his brother, he clearly wasnted one of his own sons to be king again. P. Ali was chosen because he was considered majority Arab. However, this is still not true because Q. Alia was Circassian, not Palestinian, as some historians have said. Q. Alia came from Circassian family who lived in Palestine.

Eventhough K. Hussein was close to Hamzah, it was Ali he had in mind for king. But Ali lost his chance when he fell into drugs, partying, and dropped out of school. K. Hussein did not feel he was responsible enough to be king.

At one point, K Hussein was not even speaking to KA (then prince) because he was partying to much and seeing too many women. But KA came around. Give Rania credit, she set him on the straight and narrow. I have no proof that KA has another woman. [/b][/quote]
See...Someone on this forum, and I can't remember who, didn't believe King Abdullah was doing the same thing.

 

[sommone]

I didn't know Ali didn't finish school? wow.

 

[rollin_keef]

Ive heard that their is a rivary and frosty relationships between the Daughters of P Muna and Q Noor.
Anything right there?
How do the girls get along and between them and sisters in law?

What children are close e.g KA and P Iman?

 

[alia_musallam]

someone on another message board stated that rania did not get one very well with her husbands brothers and their families. does anyone here know how true this is as I am under the impression that they all get on very well and spend lots of time together.

 

[cut1me]

Originally posted by alia_musallam@Jun 21st, 2004 - 6:57 am
someone on another message board stated that rania did not get one very well with her husbands brothers and their families. does anyone here know how true this is as I am under the impression that they all get on very well and spend lots of time together.

no i dont think thats true, i think their all friends, maybe once in a while they fight like every family but they travel together, last year their were pics of all the them together