Jordanian king, prince make joint appearance

Jordan’s King Abdullah and former crown prince and half-brother Prince Hamza made their first joint appearance since a rift shook the country, attending a ceremony yesterday marking 100 years of independence.

Hamza pledged allegiance to King Abdullah late on Monday following mediation by the royal family, two days after the military warned him over actions that it said were undermining Jordan’s security and stability.

On Wednesday, in the first statement since the affair came to light, King Abdullah said sedition had been quashed and Hamza was “under my care” with his family at his palace. The monarch said the crisis was “the most painful” because it came from both inside the royal family and outside it.

Hamza’s absence after he appeared in a video on April 3 saying he had been ordered to stay at home and accused the country’s rulers of corruption led to speculation about his whereabouts.

Hamza had been widely expected to succeed Abdullah as Jordan’s next king, until the monarch made his own son, Prince Hussein, heir instead in 2004.