Shift of Power - Jordanian Harem

A picture says a thosand words!! And indeed this one does!

King Hussein had just died. Fortunes of those closest to him had changed dramatically over night. Queen Noor the beautiful ambitious lebanese/american wife of the King and de facto ruler of his heart ( it was she who called the shots where family, succession and importance was concerned) now had to gracefully (or otherwise ) give way to another Queen. Its never easy the shift of power, and especially not so in a middle eastern harem !! Now we know how the legendary Empress Nurjehan might have looked when her niece Arjumand Banu preceded as the new Empress upon Jehangirs death.

I'd say this picture qualifies for a historic archival picture - it tells us a tale.

Ascendancy was on the cards for Rania though, from being the daughter of the Palestinian doctor and wife of the Kings eldest but 'not in line for succession' son Abdallah, she overnight went onto become Queen of the land , the court and the harem including Queen Noor!

If Queen Noor and the son groomed for succession Prince Hamzah were sidelined so were the officially designated Crown prince and princess Prince Hasan and princess Sarvath, the dusky Pakistani princess.... the play of fate is clear - no one can imagine in their wildest imagination tell what tommorrow will hold, who will be king and who beggar?