Memorable Romance: Prince Hassan bin Talal & Princess Sarvath

By Mahlia Lone

The Hashemite royal dynasty of Jordan can trace back its ancestry to Hashim ibn ‘Abd Manaf in the sixth century, Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) great-grandfather. From the 10th century to 1924 when the House of Saud gained power over Saudi Arabia, the Hashemites ruled Mecca with one from the tribe being selected as the Sharif (religious leader) and Emir of Mecca. When the Ottoman Empire was at its zenith, the Sultan started making the selection of the Emir from amongst the Hashemite tribe. thus, Sharif Hussein ibn Ali was appointed as Sharif and Emir of Mecca by Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1908 just before World War I. With the waning of the Ottoman Empire’s power and influence, the Emir saw a chance to secure his family’s position as hereditary Emirs; hence, he led the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, urged on by the British. As a reward, his two sons were made Kings in 1921 by the British. Abdullah was made King of Jordan, while Faisal, who was earlier briefly King of Syria, was compensated with the throne of Iraq. His grandson King Faisal II was subsequently overthrown and murdered in a coup in 1958 when the Baathists took over Iraq, but the Jordanian royal family proved to be more progressive and resilient and have held on to their throne

It is to this family that Prince Hassan bin Talal was born on 20 March 1947 in Amman, the younger son of King Talal and Queen Zein al-Sharaf. His elder brother Hussein was destined for the throne, but Prince Hassan was for 33 years his chosen Crown Prince after the constitution was especially amended for this in 1965. During King Hussein’s absences from the country, Hassan would fill his shoes as Regent. But in a surprising turn of events, the King replaced him with his eldest son just days before he died in January 1999. There was much speculation in the media about this. One theory was that his Pakistani wife Princess Sarvath, considering the royal palace hers a bit prematurely while King Hussein was in the U.S. fighting for his life in a battle against cancer, ordered redecoration of the palace apartments to her liking. The King heard of her maneuverings and scrambling to establish control and finding her haste distasteful, chose to pass on the crown to his son instead. The Princess famously also didn’t get along with American born Queen Noor, King Hussein’s fourth wife who of course wanted her young son Prince Hamzah to inherit the throne. Not capitulating to pressure from external elements, the King wisely chose his eldest son (from his second wife) to replace him. Moderate King Abdullah II and his beautiful, charming and intelligent Palestinian origin wife Queen Rania have proven to be exceptionally popular monarchs. Approximately half of Jordanian citizens have Palestinian roots.

Let’s meet the Prince and Princess, who in this way, were sidestepped by history.

After early schooling in Amman, Prince Hassan attended English public schools, Summer Fields and Harrow. He graduated from Christ Church College at Oxford University with a BA and an MA. He speaks Arabic, English, French, German, Turkish, Spanish and even Hebrew. Known as the thoughtful ‘Philosopher Prince’, he has been awarded an impressive 25 honorary degrees from universities all over the world, including USA, UK, Brazil, Sweden, Hungary, Russia, Indonesia, Germany, Turkey and Pakistan. Additionally, he has worked for world and Middle East peace, which he refers to as “Muddle East” in an interview. Prince Hassan has served as the President Emeritus of the World Conference of Religions for Peace and has defended pluralism, human rights and promotes tolerance and understanding through dialogue between Muslims, Christians and Jews.

King Hussein replaced Crown Prince Hassan with his eldest son Abdullah just days before he died in January 1999. There was much speculation in the media about this. One theory was that his Pakistani wife Princess Sarvath, considering the royal palace hers a bit prematurely while King Hussein was in the U.S. fighting for his life in a battle against cancer, ordered redecoration of the palace apartments to her liking. King Hussein heard of her maneuverings and scrambling to establish control and finding her haste distasteful, chose to pass on the crown to his eldest son instead

One interviewer writes, “The Prince’s efforts to promote understanding between the Islamic and Western Worlds are crucial at a time when we seem to be drifting apart, with perceived differences appearing to overwhelm the many things we have in common, both culturally and religiously.”

In recognition of his efforts, he was awarded the 2008 Abraham Geiger Award and the Four Freedoms Award for Freedom of Worship in 2014. He has received 33 awards and prizes in total, including Knight Grand Crosses, Medals, Medallions, and Grand Decoration of Honour with Sash (Austria). He has also served on 15 committees, mostly educational boards or related to academics and is the author of seven books and numerous articles in different languages. On 10 June 2013, he was also appointed as the Chairman of the Advisory Board on Water and sanitation (UNSGAB) by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

Princess Sarvath (nee Ikramullah) was born in pre-Partition Calcutta just three months after Hassan. Her Bhopali father Mohammed Ikramullah, was a senior Civil Servant and a member of Muslim League’s Partition Committee. After Pakistan gained independence, he became the country’s first Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and later Ambassador to Canada, France, Portugal and the UK. His last post was as Chairman of the Commonwealth Economic Committee. Sarvath’s mother, Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah, was a Bengali writer, one of Pakistan’s first two female MNAs, Ambassador to Morocco and a delegate to the UN. Her uncles also held high offices in the Subcontinental governments; her paternal uncle Mohammad Hidayatullah was Vice-President of India and her maternal uncle Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was the Prime Minister of Bengal during the British Raj and later the fifth Prime Minister of Pakistan. Her mother’s paternal family traces their lineage back to the 14th-century Persian Sufi philosopher Shaikh Shabuddin Suhrawardy. Sarvath doesn’t belong to a royal, but a respected and educated family. Princess Sarvath has three siblings, including the late Bangladeshi barrister Salma Sobhan and the British-Canadian filmmaker Naz Ikramullah.

Though they are said to have met as eleven year olds in London in 1958, Hassan and Sarvath fell in love while studying at Oxford University and got married in Karachi on 28th August 1968. She was not a traditional choice for him. She was neither Jordanian, royal, nor beautiful, but they must have forged a strong connection. The Princess appears to be tenacious and has held on to her position as wife. King Hussein married four times, but Prince Hassan has had only one wife. They live in a lovely historic house in Amman and have four children together. Princess Rahma was born in 1969, Princess Sumaya in 1971, Princess Badiya followed in 1974 and the youngest a son Prince Rashid was born in 1979.

Princess Sarvath has served on many charitable organizations in Jordan, but she has also led a glamorous life accompanying Prince Hassan to royal events around the world, such as the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden in 2010 and the inauguration of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in 2013. In a 2013 appearance at Royal Ascot, she rode in pride of place with Queen Elizabeth II in her royal carriage. In fact at Prince Rashid’s wedding, it was observed that there was a greater number of European Royalty present than any other group. At most of these international events, Princess Sarvath chooses to wear silk saris in keeping with her Bengali heritage.

Hassan and Sarvath fell in love while studying at Oxford University and got married in Karachi on 28th August 1968. She was not a traditional choice for him. She was neither Jordanian, royal, nor beautiful, but they must have forged a strong connection. The Princess appears to be tenacious and has held on to her position as wife. King Hussein married four times, but Prince Hassan has had only one wife

Princess Sarvath is sporty and enjoys skiing holidays, is the honorary President of the Jordanian Badminton Federation and was Jordan’s first female black belt in Taekwondo. She has kept up her connection to Pakistan with periodic visits, ordering outfits from fashion designers here, inviting Rizwan Beyg and others to hold fashion shows in Amman and commissioning interior designer Mian Ahad to do up her palace in Amman. She was also involved with charity fundraising for the Kashmir earthquake along with her son Prince Rashid who, as the President of the Hashemite Charity Organization, made visits here personally to oversee reconstruction of dwellings and rehabilitation of affectees. Princess Sarwat also contacted her friends, the royal families of Belgium, Denmark, England, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and Norway and Baden Aid (HRH The Margave of Baden in Germany)  to raise funds after the devastating quake.
Hassan and Sarvath’s daughters grew up to be strong and accomplished modern day princesses. Their eldest daughter Princess Rahma received BA and MA degrees from Cambridge University after attending Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset, like her sisters who followed her there. In 2007, she married Alaa Batayneh, former Senator Arif El Batayneh’s son. Alaa is the country’s current Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources. The couple has two children together, Aysha who was born in 2002 and Arif, born in 2006.

Second daughter Sumaya graduated from the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London and married Nasser Judeh, former Cabinet Minister Sami Judeh’s son. Nasser also served as Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. The couple has four children: Tariq, Zein, Ali and Sukayna, but they divorced subsequently in 2007. Princess Sumaya University for Technology, founded in 1991, is named after her. In 2006 she was appointed President of the Royal Scientific Society, Jordan’s leading applied research institute, by Prince Hassan. She also sits as Deputy-Chair of the Higher Council for Science and Technology, advising the State on public policy issues relating to science and technology. In addition, Sumaya founded the El Hassan Science City, inaugurated by King Abdullah II in 2007.

Princess Badiya attended Christ Church at Oxford, and then got a law diploma from The College of Law in London (where she met her future husband). She qualified as a barrister in 1998, being called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn, the first member of the Jordanian Royal Family to become a lawyer. Next, she got her LLM in International Law from the London School of Economics. In 2005, she married Britisher Khaled Edward Blair in Amman and they have one son together named Ali. Khaled works as an investment banker in London. Speaking of her husband’s conversion to Islam, she said in an interview, “He became a Muslim before we married, but I was adamant that Ed’s conversion should be out of genuine religious conviction and not because of me. Would Ed have become a Muslim if he had never met me? Maybe not, it may not have occurred to him to look into it. As it was, he studied Islam and found that it was what he believed in already.”

Part of their wedding festivities in Amman was a Pakistani style mehndi (henna) ceremony at which she dressed up as a traditional Pakistani bride, complete with jhoomar (head ornament) and lehnga (long embroidered bridal skirt). Princess Badiya has been photographed in Pakistani embroidered shalwar kameez on many occasions. In the UK, she works at promoting interfaith and cross-cultural understanding, human rights and the rights of asylum seekers and refugees through the Muslim-led charity Mosaic, a mentoring programme for youth founded by Prince Charles, of which she is the Chairperson.

Prince Rashid attended Port Regis and Harrow schools, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and got his BA from Cambridge University. He joined the Jordanian Armed Forces as Captain and is currently serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Gendarmerie. In 2011, Prince Rashid had a grand royal wedding to Zeina Shaban at Amman’s Basman Palace. Zeina, a statuesque beauty and national table tennis champion, represented Jordan at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. The national flag bearer in Beijing, she had the whole country’s eyes on her. The Prince, himself a sporting enthusiast, looked jubilant at his wedding to the sporting star. The couple has a son Hassan, 2013. Prince Rashid has been head of the Jordan Amateur Boxing Association, and is the Captain of the Jordanian Polo Team and President of the Jordan Taekwondo Federation.

An enlightened thinker that wants to see the Muslim world progress, Prince Rashid wisely said in an interview, “If wealthy Arab nations would develop a communication strategy for public diplomacy whereby such wealth – $1 trillion in bank deposits – actually is seen to be doing something to improve the Muslim world’s lot via empowerment and concern for the poor, then you’d see an evolution. Our concern then would become super-national, whereby the issue wouldn’t be to try to beautify our image in the eyes of others, i.e. the West, rather to promote ourselves not by words but by deeds. But unfortunately at the present time, nobody is taking the initiative toward this super-national thinking. For example, I don’t see why there isn’t an international fund for zakat (alms), even until now.”

Let’s hope other Arab leaders follow his progressive thinking.