Talal of Jordan

Infobox Jordanian Royalty|king
name = Talal
Arabic name = طلال بن عبد الله
title = King of Jordan


imgw = 200
caption =
reign =July 20, 1951 - August 11, 1952
predecessor =Abdullah I
successor =Hussein I
spouse =Zein al Sharaf Talal
issue =Hussein
Prince Muhammad
Prince El Hussan
Princess Basma
royal house =Hashemite
royal anthem =
father =King Abdullah I
mother =Musbah bint Nasser
date of birth =birth date|1909|02|26
place of birth =
date of death =death date and age|1972|7|7|1909|02|26|mf=y
place of death =
buried =|

Talal I bin Abdullah, King of Jordan (Arabic: طلال بن عبد الله "Ṭalāl ibn `Abd Allāh") born February 26, 1909 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia and died July 7, 1972 was King of Jordan from July 20, 1951 until forced to abdicate due to health reasons (the British claimed he suffered from schizophrenia [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,816694,00.html "Schizophrenia," "Time Magazine", August 18, 1952] ] ) on August 11, 1952.

Life

He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from which he graduated in 1939. Talal had ascended the Jordanian throne after the assassination in Jerusalem of his father Abdullah I. His son, Hussein, who was accompanying his grandfather at Friday prayers was also a near victim.

During his short reign he was responsible for the formation of a liberalized constitution for the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which made the government collectively, and the ministers individually, responsible before the Jordanian Parliament. The constitution was ratified on January 1, 1952. King Talal is also judged as having done much to smooth the previously strained relations between Jordan and the neighboring Arab states of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Marriage and Children

In 1934 King Talal married Zein al Sharaf Talal with whom she bore four sons and two daughters:
*HM King Hussein - November 14 1935
*HRH Princess Asma - deceased when born 1937
*HRH Prince Muhammad - October 2 1940
*HRH Prince El Hassan - March 20 1947
*HRH Princes Muhsin - deceased
*HRH Princess Basma - May 11 1951

Notes