King
Abdullah and his spouse, Queen Rania, enjoy
spending time at the Summer Palace in Aqaba
with their children Prince Hussein, baby daughter
Awaba, and Princess Iman.
|
The
King and I
By
Peter Greenberg '72
Photos by Robert Landau
Over
the next few years, starting in 1998, the prince and
I met again in Jordan, and we talked about the fragile
peace and the treaty that his father had negotiated
with Israel in 1994. We spoke about extremism, politics,
security, and cultural and religious intolerance.
He talked about his family, his hopes, and trying
to maintain a somewhat sensible lifestyle given his
responsibilities.
Born
in Amman in 1962, the eldest son of King Hussein and
his British-born second wife, Toni Gardiner, Abdullah
was raised in an environment of both privilege and
hardship. Wanting him to learn the ways of the world,
Hussein sent Abdullah off to boarding school in the
U.S. for his junior high and high school years.
"I
became very familiar with American thinking, American
customs, and the way you deal with things," he told
me, "to the point that I have two switches —
I can put the Jordanian switch on, and then I can
put on the American switch. To be able to at least
switch your mind, to be able to understand another
culture, I think is a tremendous opportunity that
I'm very grateful for."
After
a stint at Sandhurst Military Academy in England,
Abdullah trained to become a career soldier in the
Jordanian army. When he returned home, he promptly
began his military career, commanding both tank and
attack helicopter units, and rising to the rank of
major general and head of Jordanian Special Forces.
"When
people see members of the royal family carrying the
burdens that they carry, and the ultimate burden of
risking your life in defense of your ideals and your
nation," he explained to me, "it's a way of breaking
down barriers and bringing the royal family closer
to its people, because you're willing to take the
same risks that they are."
He
took risks in his personal life as well. Like his
adventurous father, the young prince had a passion
for speed and daring. He was a champion rally car
driver, skydiver, and avid scuba diver. But it was
a beauty named Rania who would really capture his
imagination. A Jordanian woman of Palestinian origin,
she married Abdullah in 1993 and would soon bear him
a son.
By the late 1990s, the young family was in for a shock.
The world watched with sadness as King Hussein contracted
lymphatic cancer, and though he traveled several times
to the U.S. for treatment, the cancer proved incurable.
In January 1999, knowing he didn't have long to live,
Hussein returned to Jordan for the last time. Standing
in the reception line on the tarmac was Hussein's
brother, then Crown Prince Hassan, who had held the
reins of power in the king's absence and was expected
to inherit the throne. But in a surprising turn of
events, Hussein announced that he was changing the
line of succession, and the crown would instead pass
to Abdullah.
"As my father was failing, we met often at the hospital
in the U.S. and again in London," he explains. "He
said he needed to talk to me, but there never seemed
to be time for us to have that conversation."
back,
1, 2, 3,
4, next
On Wisconsin home
