Noor and Rania of Jordan, war between queens (to make children sit on the throne)

February 9 1999, two days after the death of King Hussein of Jordan, the British newspaper The Guardian one prophesied war between queens in the Hashemite court. On one side was the queen Noor, widow of the monarch, on the other the then princess Rania, who after her husband’s imminent accession to the throne Abdullah she would become queen consort. The late Jordanian king had named his eldest son, the current ruler Abdullah II, had by his second wife Muna al-Husayn, as his successor. But before he died he had also mentioned Crown Prince Hamzah, by his fourth wife, Queen Noor.

The war between queens prophesied by Guardian began in 2005, When Abdullah II took away from the stepbrother Hamzah, against his father’s will, the title of crown prince. Per appoint the eldest of Rania’s children as his successor: Hussein, 26 years.

Abdullah II, taking the throne from his half-brother, inflicted the coup de grace on Noor of Jordan. The former queen after becoming a widow was returned to the United States, his country of origin. But as the mother of the future king she had maintained a strong influence in the Hashemite court. With Abdullah’s move, Noor had lost all power. Behind that move, according to many royal observers, was Rania of Jordan, who would have plotted to make his son the heir to the throne: “It was Rania who put pressure on her husband. Abdullah was linked to his stepbrother and father, ”he explained at the time Randa Habib, of the France Presse agency in Jordan. “Rania fights for one purpose: to secure the throne for her son».

Now Hamzah was arrested for an alleged coup attempt against King Abdullah II. According to many royal observers, this is just the latest chapter in the war between Rania and Noor.

Some members of the Hashemite court point precisely Noor as responsible for the alleged coup against Abdullah II. For example the princess Firyal, one of the aunts of the current monarch, in a message shared on her Twitter account and already deleted wrote: «The ambition of Queen Noor and her children is totally unjustified. Everyone should know. As constitutionally established, the succession goes from father to eldest son»He wrote last Sunday.

One of the last times Rania and Noor have been photographed together was at Prince Hamzah’s first wedding in May 2004. In the shots the two women appear smiling “but actually the tensions between the two were palpable».

Perhaps Noor suspected what was about to happen: the November 28, 2005, six months after the wedding, Abdullah II withdrew the title of crown prince from his half-brother. A surprising decision that the king did not explain, but which was seen as a new chapter in the power struggle between the two queens.

Now, the recent arrest of Prince Hamzah looks like another setback for Noor, who still remains very popular in Jordan. The former queen consort has never had a bad word for Rania in all these years, but after the latest events things could change. For now, Noor just says that pray “for all the innocent victims of this evil slander, so that truth and justice prevail “