Jordan’s Estranged Prince Drops Royal Title

By Staff, Agencies

Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, the half-brother of Jordan’s king, relinquished his royal title on Sunday, a year after he was placed under house arrest after a palace feud.

Prince Hamzah posted his resignation on Twitter, writing that he was giving up his title because his values “are not in line with the approaches, trends, and modern methods of our institutions.”

He stopped short of directly criticizing King Abdullah II, as he has done in the past.

Hamzah and Abdullah are both sons of King Hussein, who ruled Jordan for nearly half a century before his death in 1999.

Abdullah appointed Hamzah as crown prince upon his succession but stripped him of the title in 2004.

The monarch placed Hamzah under house arrest last April for an alleged plot to destabilize the Western-allied kingdom.

Hamzah initially denied the allegations, saying he was being punished for speaking out against corruption.

But last month he apologized for his role in the alleged plot, according to the Royal Palace.