Prince Hamzeh drops his title in protest over how his country is run; Jordanian king’s brother rekindles rift

An outspoken half-brother of Jordan’s king relinquished his princely title Sunday in apparent protest over how the country is run. It was the latest chapter in an ongoing palace feud that saw the junior royal placed under house arrest a year ago.

Prince Hamzah posted the announcement on his official Twitter account. He wrote that he was driven to the decision because his convictions cannot be reconciled with the “current approaches, policies and methods of our institutions.”

He stopped short of directly criticising King Abdullah II and the ruling elites, as he had done in the past, but his tone signalled that the rift has not been mended, as the Royal Court suggested in the past. The Royal Court had no immediate comment.

Abdullah and Hamzah are sons of King Hussein, who ruled Jordan for nearly a half-century before his death in 1999. Abdullah had appointed Hamzah as crown prince upon his succession but stripped him of the title in 2004.

The monarch had placed Hamzah under house arrest last April for his alleged plot to destabilise the Western-allied kingdom. In a video statement at the time, Hamzah denied the allegations, saying he was being punished for speaking out against official corruption.

Last month, Hamzah apologised to his brother, according to a letter released by the Royal Court at the time. Hamzah went on to express hope that “we can turn the page on this chapter in our country’s and our family’s history.”