Jordan's Crown Prince ... Dissed and Dismissed



Above: Smile even though you're crying ...

Sunday, before the royal court, and afterwards on Jordanian television, King Abdullah of Jordan psyched the mind of Prince Hamzah, dismissing his half-brother as crown prince and heir (Oops, I'm sorry ...), clearing the way for his 10 year old son, Prince Hussein, to succeed to the throne.

The Washington Times writes, "Sources close to the royal palace also speculated the king would name one of his other brothers as a provisional crown prince due to his son's age."

The Times of India chimed in on the ruckus:

"Sources close to the royal family said Abdullah, said to have been on bad terms with his stepmother, Noor, since her marriage to Hussein in 1978, was reluctant to name Hamzah as his heir apparent, but did so upon his father's dying request. Analysts agreed that it would be difficult to discover if there had been any personal problems between Abdullah and Hamzah that drove the monarch to retract on fulfilling his father's dying wish."

Quoth The Old Gray Lady:

"Hamza's mother is Queen Noor, the American-born former Lisa Halaby, who became Hussein's fourth wife in 1978. She had groomed her son as a future king but the premature death of her husband upset her plans, palace sources say."
According to Hello!Magazine, which follows titled royalty around like Scarlett Johannson, the Sir Emund Hillary of Social Climbing:

"Jordan's King Abdullah has relieved his half-brother, Prince Hamzah, of his title as crown prince. Speaking in a televised address on Sunday, Abdullah said the move would allow his sibling to play a more meaningful part in the country's political life. 'I chose you five years ago to be crown prince, rather than my other brothers who are older than you,' he said. 'Your presence in this symbolic post restricts your freedom and restricts our ability to assign you some responsibilities, as its symbolic nature bars you from shouldering some responsibilities you are capable of conducting in the best possible way.'"

The Corsair's Simultaneous Bullshit Cutting Translator(TM): "Your presence in this important post gets in the fucking way of my offspring, so why don't you go take this bag of loot and party with some Swiss hookers and leave the kingdom to my family."

Or something to that effect (a controlled belly-laugh, followed by a small closing cough of feigned detachment). Hello! continues:

"It is not the first time the issue of succession has provoked surprise in Jordan. Just days before his death in 1999, the previous monarch, King Hussein, unexpectedly withdrew the title of crown prince from his brother Hassan, granting it instead to Abdullah. Soon after acceding to the throne, the new ruler elevated Hamzah to the position of crown prince. It is well known that King Hussein had a special affection for Hamzah, whom he described as 'the delight of my eye'."

Angelina Jolie, apropos of nothing, is the "delight of The Corsair's eye" (and other unmentionable organs):

"(Hamzah), who is currently studying politics at an American university, has earned a reputation for his progressive views. In the past he has delivered speeches calling for reform in Muslim thinking, but the role of crown prince involves no political duties."

Who will be voted next off of Survivor: Jordan?

Scenes from the next episode of Jordanian Survivor(TM): Queen Noor attends her Princeton reunion (Lisa Hallaby '73) to deride the West on its materialism and how "liberating" it is to be the fourth wife of a quasi-corrupt monarch, then quickly limos to her private jet to hang with The Clintons ... King Abullah asks Condi urge Sharon withdraw Jewish settlements from Gaza ... and 10 year old Princelet Hussein reviews the new Spongebob Squarepants movie ...