Jordan’s Prince Hamzah relinquishes title a year after plot

Agencies | Amman

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The half-brother of Jordan’s king relinquished his princely title on Sunday, a year after a rare palace feud saw him placed under house arrest.

Prince Hamzah posted the letter on his official Twitter account, saying he gave up his title because his values “are not in line with the approaches, trends and modern methods of our institutions.”

King Abdullah II and Hamzah are both 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 prince apologised last month for his role in the alleged plot, the Royal Palace said. He was accused last year of involvement in a plot to destabilise the Western-allied kingdom and was placed under house arrest last April. In a video statement at the time he denied the allegations, saying he was being punished for speaking out against official corruption.

The Royal Court had no immediate comment.