Jordanian Royal Burial Sites

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2012

The Royal Cemetery, near Raghadan Palace within the Royal Compound (Al-Marquar), is the resting place of the kings of Jordan, as well as other members of the Jordanian Royal Family. It includes three mausoleums containing the tombs of the three monarchs, as well as a long pavilion that faces them. Breaking with tradition, King Hussein had a huge mausoleum built for his third wife, the late Queen Alia, atop a large hill northwest of Amman. To date, she is the only monarch or consort buried outside of the Royal Cemetery. The Jordanian royal family follows the Sunni denomination of Islam.

All photos from Wikipedia unless otherwise noted.

Royal Cemetery – Tombs of Kings Talal, Abdullah I, and Hussein

Pavilion at the Royal Cemetery

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Kings of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

  • Abdullah I, King of Jordan, reigned May 25, 1946 – July 20, 1951 (assassinated)
  • Talal I, King of Jordan, reigned July 20, 1951 – August 11, 1952 (abdicated)
  • Hussein I, King of Jordan, reigned August 11, 1952 – February 7, 1999
  • Abdullah II, King of Jordan, reigned February 7, 1999 – present

Unofficial Royalty: Jordanian Index
Official Website: His Majesty King Abdullah II

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Abdullah I
King of Jordan
reigned May 25, 1946 – July 20, 1951

King Abdullah I was born in February 1882, the son of Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, and Abdiya bint Abdullah. His brothers included Ali, King of Hejaz, and Faisal, King of Iraq and Syria. The King had three wives. His senior wife and Queen Consort was Musbah bint Nasser. The couple married in Istanbul in 1904 and had three children. His two ‘junior’ wives were Princess Suzdil Khanum (married 1913, two children) and Nahda bint Uman (married 1949, no children). Princess Suzdil died in 1968 and is buried in the Royal Cemetery. It is believed that his third wife, Nahda bint Uman, is buried in the Royal Cemetery as well.

King Abdullah died July 20, 1951, having been assassinated at the Dome of the Rock, at the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. He is buried in the Royal Cemetery at Al-Maquar, in the large mausoleum at the center.

Musbah bint Nasser
Queen Consort

Musbah bint Nasser was born in 1884, the daughter of Emir Nasser Pasha and Dilber Khanum. She married the future King Abdullah I in 1904 and the couple had three children. As King Abdullah’s senior wife, she was the first Queen of Jordan.

Queen Musbah died on March 15, 1961, in Jordan. She is buried at the Royal Cemetery at Al-Maquar.

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Talal I
King of Jordan
reigned July 20, 1951 – August 11, 1952

King Talal was born on February 26, 1909, the son of King Abdullah I and his senior wife, Musbah bint Nasser. He married, on November 27, 1934, his first cousin Zein al-Sharaf Talal. The couple had six children. King Talal suffered from health issues, believed to be mental illness, and abdicated on August 11, 1952, in favor of his eldest son, Hussein. The former King died on July 7, 1972, in Istanbul. He is buried at the Royal Cemetery at Al-Maquar.

Tomb of King Talal

Zein al-Sharaf Talal
Queen Consort

Zein al-Sharaf Talal was born on August 2, 1916, the daughter of Sharif Jamal bin Nasser and Wijdan Hanim. She married the future King Talal, her first cousin, on November 27, 1934. The couple had six children. Queen Zein died on April 26, 1994, in Lausanne, Switzerland. She is buried at the Royal Cemetery at Al-Maquar.

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Hussein I
King of Jordan
reigned August 11, 1952 – February 7, 1999

King Hussein I was born November 14, 1935, the eldest son of King Talal and Zein al-Sharaf Talal. He succeeded his father as King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on August 11, 1952, just 18 years old. King Hussein married four times, having a total of 12 children.

  • April 18, 1955, to Sharifa Dina bint ‘Abdu’l-Hamid, styled Queen Dina. The couple had one daughter, Princess Alia. They divorced in 1957, and she took the style HRH Princess Dina Abdul-Hamid.
  • May 25, 1961, to Antoinette Avril Gardiner, styled Princess Muna al-Hussein. The couple had four children – King Abdullah II, Prince Faisal, Princess Aish, and Princess Zein. They divorced in 1971, and Princess Muna retained her title.
  • December 24, 1972, to Alia Baha el-Din Toukan, styled Queen Alia. The couple had three children – Princess Haya, Prince Ali, and Abir Muhaisen, whom they adopted in 1976. Queen Alia was killed in a helicopter crash in 1977.
  • June 15, 1978, to Lisa Najeeb Halaby, styled Queen Noor. The couple had four children – Prince Hamzah, Prince Hashim, Princess Iman, and Princess Raiyah.

King Hussein died on February 7, 1999, after a long battle with cancer. He was buried at the Royal Cemetery at Al-Maquar.

Tomb of King Hussein

Alia Baha el-Din Toukan
Queen Consort

Alia Baha el-Din Toukan was born on December 25, 1948, the daughter of Bahaalddin Toukan and Hanan Hashim. She married King Hussein on December 24, 1972, and the couple had three children. Queen Alia was killed in a helicopter crash on February 9, 1977, in Jordan. She was initially buried in the Royal Cemetery at Al-Maquar. However, King Hussein had a large mausoleum built for his late wife on a hill outside of Amman, and Queen Alia’s tomb was moved there in 1980.

Queen Alia Mausoleum

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