The Royal Hashemite Court of Jordan announced the death of HRH Princess Dina bint Abdul Hamid on Wednesday 21 August 2019, who passed away that morning at the age of 89. She was the first wife of late King Hussein, which made her Queen-consort during their brief marriage from 1955 to 1957. Her daughter, Princess Alia is Hussein's oldest child, while current King Abdullah II is her stepson.
Dina was born on 15 December 1929, in Cairo, Egypt. Through her father's lineage she was a distant member of the House of Hashemite (which rules Jordan since 1946). She received the honorary title of
Sharifa of Mecca upon birth, which is entitled upon male-line descendants of Prophet Muhammad (claimed by the Hashemite dynasty).
Princess Dina was sent to a boarding school in England, and earned her degree in english literature from Girton College, Cambridge University. While studying here she met her future husband, Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan (her third cousin-once-removed) at a mutual relative's home in London. He became King later the same year. THe princess also attended postgraduate studies in social science, receiving a diploma from London's Bedford College.
Following her studies Sharifa Dina returned to Egypt and briefly taught English literature & philosophy at the University of Cairo. In 1954 Queen Zein, the influential mother of King Hussein, announced the engagement between her son & Dina (who was six years older). They married on April 18, 1955 in a glittering ceremony, with Princess Dina bestown the title of Queen.
Their marriage produced a child, their daughter, Princess Alia (b. 1956). However it was reportedly a tumultuous one, with Queen Dina complaining for the denial of any public role from her, and an evident tension in relations between the young Queen and her mother-in-law. Their marriage eventually became dispeare & Dina received a letter from her husband, announcing their finalised divorce on 24 June 1957, while on holidays in Egypt. From then on she lost the privileges of a royal consort, but was given the rank of a
Princess of Jordan.
She was forced to a temporary separation from her daughter, before being allowed to see Alia again.
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| King Hussein with Queen Dina & baby Princess Alia ca. 1956 |
Princess Dina Abdul Hamid led a private life after her first marriage, far from the public eye. She spent many years in Cairo, where a street bears her name. On 7 October 1970, she married her second husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Asad Sulayman Abd al-Qadir (thirteen years her junior). He is a former Palestinian guerilla, who became a high-ranking member of the
Palestinian Liberation Organization (
PLO). They marriage was childless. He was arrested and imprisoned by Israel in 1982. The next year, Dina negotiated
one of the largest exchanges of prisoners in history, and achieved the freedom of Asad and some 8,000 other prisoners. Her Royal Highness later wrote about this story in a book she published, named 'Duet for Freedom'. It is unconfirmed whether they lived together in her later years.
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| King Abdullah II drives the royal family to the cemetery |
King Hussein, on the other part, remarried three more times, having 11 more children. He lived a full life of political turmoils & diplomatic maneuverings, survived many assassination attempts, and reached deep respect and popularity in the Middle East & the western world by his death in 1999.
Princess Dina died in the last Wednesday in Amman (Jordan), less than 4 months short of her 90th birthday. The Royal Hashemite Court mourned her passing in its announcement, and expressed condolences to HM The King, HRH Princess Alia Bint Al Hussein and the entire Hashemite Royal family.
Her funeral took place the same day in a special, private ceremony at the Royal Cemetery, attended (among others) by her grandsons, her stepson King Abdullah II, Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah, and former Crown Prince El Hassan Bin Talal (brother of King Hussein). The King earlier joined worshippers at the Royal Guards' Mosque for the noon & funeral (muslim) prayers.
She was laid to rest later in the afternoon (Wednesday, 21/8), at the Royal cemetery, with the Royal family accepting condolences from senior officials and officers (who had participated in the burial).
The Royal Court didn't announce a mourning period, though condolences for the deceased were accepted at Princess Alia's residence for the next three days (Thursday 22 - Saturday 24 August), from 2 to 5pm for female & from 6 to 9pm for male family members.
HRH Sharifa DINA BINT ABDUL HAMID (15/12/1929 - 21/08/2019); QUEEN-Consort of JORDAN (18/04/1955 - 24/06/1957) & first wife of King Hussein (1935-1999; r.: 1952-1999).
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| Princess Dina Abdul Hamid with her book 'Duet for Freedom' |
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