For the last 22 years, His Majesty King Abdullah II has reigned Jordan as a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of the country since 1921.
However, it’s the role of the Crown Prince of Jordan, which determines who will step into the role of monarch next, and the history of the role of Crown Prince has been a turbulent one for the country.
Throughout the 100-year Hashemite reign in Jordan, there has been a total of eight Crown Princes.
From 1946 to 1951 under the reign of King Abdullah I, Prince Talal was the Crown Prince and eventually succeeded his father’s role after his death.
Following King Talal’s succession, he appointed his son Hussein as Crown Prince in September 1951. However, after just 13 months on the throne, the country’s Parliament forced King Talal to abdicate due to worries over his mental health.
King Hussein then ascended into the role of the monarch for the country and was under his 47-year reign where the successor of the Crown Prince role changed four times.
Firstly, Hussein’s younger brother Prince Muhammad was made Crown Prince of Jordan in 1952 and he held the post for 10 years until 1962. However, Hussein then removed Prince Muhammad from the role, appointing his infant son, Abdullah – who is now the King of Jordan – to the position.
However, some three years later, Prince Hassan, the younger brother of King Hussein, was appointed as the Crown Prince of Jordan in April 1995, a position which he held for four years. But, on 24 January 1999, Hussein replaced the role of Crown Prince for the fourth time, naming his son Abdullah, who was now an adult, as the heir apparent. Two weeks later, on February 7, 1999, King Hussein died.
Upon King Abdullah II’s ascension to the throne, complying with his late father’s wishes, he appointed his younger half-brother, Prince Hamzah, as Crown Prince of Jordan.
However, less than six years later after becoming king, His Majesty removed the title of Crown Prince from his brother on November 4, 2004.
Per the Washington Institute, Abdullah II wrote a letter to his “dear brother” Prince Hamzah stating that he was a “sincere Jordanian soldier, keen to selflessly perform the call of duty”. However, the monarch stated that he wanted to free his brother from the constricting role of Crown Prince as it had “restrained” him.
“Holding this symbolic position has restrained your freedom and hindered our trusting you with certain responsibilities that you are fully qualified to undertake,” he said in the letter. “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, along side with all our brothers, the sons of Al Hussein, and other members of the Hashemite Family.”
While King Abdullah did not officially appoint a new Crown Prince straight away, it’s stated in the constitution that the throne is passed to the eldest son of the monarch unless stipulated otherwise.
Five years after Prince Hamzah was stripped of the Crown Prince title, King Abdullah’s eldest son Prince Hussein was named Crown Prince of Jordan on July 2, 2009. He was 15-years-old.
While the role of Crown Prince of Jordan certainly has been tumultuous, under the reign of King Abdullah II with the help of Crown Prince Hussein, they have both brought stability and prosperity not just to Jordan, but to the entire region.
