Jordan’s outspoken prince gives up title a year after being placed under house arrest

Jordan’s Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, an outspoken half-brother of the king has relinquished his princely title in apparent protest over how the country is run, a year after being placed on house arrest.

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

“Following what I have witnessed in recent years, I have come to the conclusion that my personal convictions which my father instilled in me, and which I tried hard in my life to adhere to, are not in line with the approaches, trends and modern methods of our institutions,” he wrote.

“From the matter of honesty to God and conscience, I see nothing but to transcend and abandon the title of prince. I had the great honour of serving my beloved country and my dear people over the years of my life,” he further said. “I will remain as I have always been and as long as I live, loyal to our beloved Jordan.”

While he did not directly name his brother, King Abdullah II and the ruling elites, the move contradicts the Royal Court’s suggestion that the rift between the two brothers had been mended.

King Abdullah and and the former Prince Hamzah are sons of late King Hussein, who ruled Jordan for nearly a half-century before his death in 1999. After taking over, King Abdullah had appointed Mr Hamzah as the crown prince but stripped him of the title in 2004.

The monarch had placed his brother under house arrest last April for his alleged plot to destabilise the Western-allied kingdom. Several high level officers, believed to have been linked to a plan of coup, were arrested.

However, in a video statement at the time, the younger brother denied the allegations, saying he was being punished for speaking out against official corruption.

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

Analyst Amer Sabaileh said he expected the prince’s announcement to rekindle the royal rift that many in Jordan believed had been resolved with the prince’s apology.

“He is trying to re-engage with the old narrative,” Mr Sabaileh said of Mr Hamzah, adding that he seemed to have had made the decision unilaterally and announced it on his personal Twitter account, rather than in consultation with the royal family.

“We are back to the point where he is saying he is not satisfied, that he is still bitter and there is no reconciliation.”

It was not immediately clear if the decision of the former prince to relinquish his title will help restore his freedom of movement. He has only appeared in public once since the feud.

The long continued rift between the brothers has been a matter of concern in the country believed to be a strong western ally and was infighting of the Hashemite royal family going public.

Additional reporting by agencies