The Life of King Hussein (Part 2)

King Hussein's first wife was an older woman, the beautiful Dina bint Abedelhamid, who was his distant cousin. After one year of marriage and the birth of a daughter, Princess Alia, King Hussein and Queen Dina were divorced.

In 1961, Hussein married his second wife, a British army officer's daughter, Antoinette "Toni" Gardner. She converted to Islam and took the name Princess Muna. They had two sons, Prince Abdullah and Prince Feisal, followed by two daughters, Princess Zein and Princess Aisha. In 1972, the couple divorced.

That same year Hussein married Alia Toukan. They had a daughter, Princess Haya, and a son, Prince Ali, as well as an adopted daughter, Abeer Muhaisin. In 1977, tragedy struck the family when Queen Alia was killed in a helicopter crash.

The following year, King Hussein married his fourth and final wife, American-born Lisa Halaby. She converted to Islam and took the name Queen Noor. They had two sons, Prince Hamzah and Prince Hashim, and two daughters, Princess Iman and Princess Raiyah.

King Hussein was an active man who enjoyed skiing, tennis, riding motorcycles, driving race cars, and flying airplanes. His other hobbies included ham radio and surfing the Internet. He was also a heavy smoker, which may have contributed to the health problems that plagued him in the 1990s. In 1992 he had a cancerous kidney removed. In 1997 he underwent two more operations to treat prostate and lymph gland problems. In 1998 he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a type of cancer. He spent six months in the U.S., undergoing chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant. He returned home to Jordan on January 19, 1999, piloting his own plane, and was welcomed by jubilation from his subjects, who believed he had been cured.

Since 1965, Hussein's brother Hassan had been his designated successor. Now, however, Hussein removed Hassan as crown prince and appointed his eldest son, Prince Abdullah, to succeed him instead. In a letter read on Jordanian television, Hussein accused Hassan of interfering with the army and spreading gossip about Queen Noor. On the same day that Abdullah's appointment as crown prince was announced, the ailing King Hussein left Jordan to return to the U.S. for more cancer treatments.

On February 2, Hussein received bone marrow transplants. The donors were his brother Prince Mohamed and his sister, Princess Basma. But it was too late. Hussein soon lapsed into a coma. In accordance with his wishes, he was put on a plane home to Jordan. When he arrived on February 5 he was clinically dead. His family decided not to take him off life support, and he lingered on a few more days. Finally, on February 7, 1999, King Hussein of Jordan died. He was 63.

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