AMMAN, Jordan, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Jordan's King Abdullah II Sunday removed his half-brother, Prince Hamzah, as crown prince and heir to the Hashemite throne.
The unexpected and brief royal court announcement was aired on state-owned Jordan Television, saying only the monarch had decreed the removal of Prince Hamzah.
There was no mention of a replacement, but analysts expected Abdullah to name his 10-year-old eldest son, Prince Hussein, as heir to the throne.
Sources close to the royal palace also speculated the king would name one of his other brothers as a provisional crown prince due to his son's age.
The announcement came as a surprise even to government officials who said they did not expect the king to remove Hamzah, the son of the late King Hussein and American-born Queen Noor.
King Hussein himself, dying of cancer, had replaced his brother, Prince Hassan, with his eldest son, Abdullah, as heir only three weeks before he died in February 1999.
As his dying wish, Hussein reportedly asked Abdullah to name the 24-year-old Hamzah as crown prince.
However, Hamzah had remained out of the limelight since Abdullah assumed the throne, and only appeared on television during his wedding to one of Jordan's princesses last year.
Legislative sources said the decree would have to be endorsed by the lower and upper houses of parliament, but they said the king has the constitutional right to name his son as heir.
The constitution stipulates Jordan is an inherited monarchy to be passed on from father to son.
