Succession: | Crown Prince of Jordan |
Reign: | 11 August 1952-30 January 1962 |
Reign-Type: | Tenure |
Coronation: | Hussein of Jordan |
Cor-Type: | Monarch |
Predecessor: | Hussein bin Talal |
Spouse: | |
Issue: | |
Full Name: | Muhammad bin Talal bin Abdullah bin Hussein |
House: | Hashemite |
Father: | Talal of Jordan |
Mother: | Zein al-Sharaf |
Successor: | Prince Abdullah bin Hussein |
Birth Date: | 2 October 1940 |
Birth Place: | Amman, Emirate of Transjordan |
Death Place: | Amman, Jordan |
Religion: | Islam |
Prince Muhammad bin Talal (2 October 1940 – 29 April 2021) was a member of the Jordanian royal family. He was the second son of King Talal of Jordan and the younger brother of King Hussein of Jordan.[1] He was heir-presumptive to the throne from his elder brother's accession in 1952, until the birth of his nephew (Abdullah) in 1962.
Prince Muhammad completed his primary schooling at the Islamic Scientific College in Amman and then attended the Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil in Switzerland. He then went to Bryanston School, Dorset, in the United Kingdom where he finished his secondary education. Between 1956 and 1957 he attended the Military Academy in Baghdad.[2] In 1960 he earned his private pilot's license.
Upon his return to Jordan in 1958, Prince Muhammad joined the Jordan Arab Army and served in the first Royal Guard Regiment before becoming Aide de Camp to King Hussein. Prince Muhammad was made Crown Prince of Jordan in 1952 when his elder brother Crown Prince Hussein became king.[3] He held the post until 1962.[3] [2]
In 1971, he was appointed head of the council of tribal chiefs by King Hussein. In 1973, a royal decree invested him as the personal representative of King Hussein.[4] [2] He then headed the supreme committee for tourism in Jordan. He also served as regent and as head of the regency council on numerous occasions in the absence of the King. He held the honorary rank of full general in the Jordanian Armed Forces as well as many high decorations from Jordan and other countries.[2]
Prince Muhammad was born in Amman on 2 October 1940. He first married Firyal Irshaid in 1964. They had two sons: Prince Talal (born 26 July 1965) and Prince Ghazi (born 15 October 1966). Their marriage ended in divorce.[5] In 1981 he married his second wife Taghrid Majali, daughter of Hazza' al-Majali a two time Prime Minister of Jordan who was assassinated in 1959 while in office.[2]
Prince Muhammad died on 29 April 2021 in Amman at the age of 80.[6] [7]