Jordan’s king, prince appear in public after reports of royal rift

Jordan’s King Abdullah and his half brother Prince Hamza on Sunday made their first public appearance together since a rift between the two was reported, according to Reuters. 

Both brothers attended a ceremony Sunday celebrating the country’s 100th year of independence. 

State TV showed King Abdullah and other members of the royal family laying wreaths on a memorial of an unknown soldier and tombs of royalty in the Raghdan palace in Amman.

Prince Hamza had been absent from public view since April 3, when he said on social media he was under house arrest. Jordanian officials accused the prince, a former crown prince who has spoken out against the country’s leadership, of working with foreign actors to destabilize the country. 

Prince Hamza pledged his allegiance to his older brother last Monday after a meditation period within the royal family.

Last Wednesday King Abdullah released a statement saying that sedition has been quashed and his brother is “under my care” with his family at the palace.

Though now seemingly over, the rift exposed tensions within a royal family whose stability was seen as shielding Jordan from the conflicts that consumed neighboring Iraq and Syria.