Harry and Meghan 'snubbed' by Jordan's royal family: King Abdullah and his eldest son.

 

Harry and Meghan 'snubbed' by Jordan's royal family: King Abdullah and his eldest son - who have close relationship to Charles and William - swerve meeting with Sussexes.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been seemingly snubbed by the King and Crown Prince of Jordan during their whistle-stop pseudo-royal tour of the Middle East.

Harry and Meghan landed in the capital, Amman, late on Tuesday night for a royal-style tour and within hours began a series of humanitarian visits to various charity organisations – providing countless photo opportunities.

This included an event at the British Ambassador’s residence with World Health Organisation officials and Embassy staff yesterday that has been branded ‘entirely inappropriate’ by critics.

And today the Sussexes visited a rehab centre in Amman, where the Duchess of Sussex opted for high-street style over haute couture, wearing a £109 jacket from Zara.

The current king of Jordan, Abdullah II, has strong ties to the British Royal Family and is close to King Charles – having met him on an official visit to London last year where they were pictured warmly greeting each other.

Their relationship is so close that King Abdullah and his wife Queen Rania were special VVIP guests at the coronation and Queen Rania has also had several meetings with Queen Camilla to discuss women’s issues.

Their son Crown Prince Hussein is also friends with Prince William, spending time together in recent years in Britain and Jordan, from watching football together to a joint visit to a RAF base.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, who were at a community event in Llanidloes, Wales, together this afternoon, also attended Hussein's wedding in 2023.

But despite Harry and Meghan being in Amman, a source in Jordan told the Daily Mail: 'There is no meeting scheduled between the Duke and Duchess [of Sussex] and the Jordanian Royal Family.’ 

The only member of the Jordanian Royal Family whom Harry and Meghan met briefly was Princess Basma Bint Talal, an aunt of the current King, during a visit to a venture run by the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development.

Indeed, King Abdullah appears to have deliberately swerved any public meeting with the California-based couple – instead choosing to meet Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

While in another seemingly apparent rebuff, King Abdullah met the head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is leading the Duke and Duchess's trip to Jordan.

Official photographs showed King Abdullah at talks with the WHO chief as well as a sizeable party of delegates but Meghan and Harry were nowhere to be seen.

This is despite the Sussexes' own charity, Archewell Philanthropies, partnering with the WHO. 

The King and Crown Prince also met with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in Amman yesterday.

The current Jordanian monarch's late father, King Hussein, who died in 1999, was also on excellent terms with Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles, as highlighted during a previous visit to Amman in 2021.

The British monarch said:’ I feel this friendship in the most personal of ways, as Jordan has always been part of my life.

‘His Majesty King Hussein came to the throne in 1952, the same year as my dear mother, the Queen.

‘They would be of great mutual support to each other through the decades ahead.’

King Abdullah was educated in Britain and served with the Army after graduating from Sandhurst.

Another source in Jordan told the Daily Mail: 'The fact the Duke and Duchess of Sussex haven't met King Abdullah and been given the traditional royal welcome is glaringly obvious.

'There has been no red carpet treatment, even though King Abdullah has met officials from the World Health Origination have been behind this visit by the Duke and Duchess

‘It’s well known that King Abdullah and King Charles have a very warm relationship and that was passed down through the friendship between the late Queen Elizabeth and King Abdullah’s father.’

A third royal insider said Harry and Meghan may be disappointed not to have been able to meet the King or Crown Prince of Jordan.

‘It’s a pseudo royal visit, mimicking many of the things they or William and Kate would have done when they were part of the Firm but it seems to be lacking in the ceremonial side of things’, the source said.

Tags: Queen, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince Louis, Prince William and Kate Middleton, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Meghan, Lilibet

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