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In recent days there has been a lot of talk about the Prince Hamzah, the “rebel” of the Royal House of Jordan accused of an attempted coup, which would have brought the country to its knees if only it had been successful. Between 4 and 5 April the serenity of the Family and of the people was put to the test, putting Rania of Jordan and King Abdallah II her husband facing the serious risk of losing the throne forever.
Prince Hamzah is the half-brother of the King of Jordan, then brother-in-law of the splendid Rania. He was born in 1980 in Amman, the capital of Jordan, from fourth marriage of King Hussein with Queen Noor. The American woman, born as Lisa Halaby, was just 24 when she arrived in the country in 1976 to marry the King and theirs was a very long marriage. It ended after almost twenty years when King Hussein died, leaving her a widow.
There is a gulf between the current King Abdallah II and his younger brother, starting with the age difference. To separate them are 18 years, however, at least for the first time they followed very similar paths. In fact, Prince Hamzah attended Harrow School in London and then British Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, just like the stepbrother.
Since he was very young he has dedicated himself to military career, serving several times in the army and also receiving numerous awards and honors. Prince Hamzah continued his studies, enrolling at Harvard University where he graduated in 2006.
Despite the title with which he is recognized and the favor of King Hussein towards him, in reality Hamzah has been ousted from the line of succession to the throne of Jordan from his half-brother. When his father died of cancer in 1999 he was succeeded by Abdallah II, now on the throne, while Hamzah was appointed crown prince. However, after five years the King he deprived him of the title in favor of his eldest son Husayn, who is now 26 years old and is formally the heir to the throne of Jordan. This decision caused quite a stir, but above all they did not convince the motivations of the monarch, who claimed to have lifted a burden from his stepbrother to give him the opportunity to work and take care of something else.
Many have thought that the King’s decision was dictated by the fear that his stepbrother, highly esteemed in the Royal House, could somehow overshadow it. And to confirm this hypothesis, basically, it is enough to observe the continuous rivalry between the two in recent years. Prince Hamzah has always been “open minded” and he is much loved by the people Jordanian, both because he resembles his father and because of his propensity for contact with people. Which he has demonstrated several times, openly criticizing the government.
As for private life, Prince Hamzah he has two marriages behind him, the first of which officially celebrated in 2004 with one of his second cousins, Princess Noor bint Asem of Jordan. From this first marriage only one daughter was born, Princess Haya. But the couple divorced after a few years, in 2009, taking different paths. In January 2012, then, the Prince is married for the second time with the Princess Basmah, with whom he had four daughters (Princesses Zein, Noor, Badiya and Nafisa) and a son (Prince Hussein).
Between palace matters, marriages and children, Rania’s brother-in-law of Jordan never stopped cultivate one’s passions. He has always been a sportsman and, like his father, he is also a skilled driver.
