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The Funeral of King Hussein of Jordan on this day in 1999. The flag-draped coffin was taken on a long procession through the streets of Amman, before arriving at the Raghadan Palace and being received by the new King Abdullah, and then the various Heads of State and Dignitaries, who paid their respects in their tradition. Afterwards, the coffin was escorted by the men of the Jordanian Royal Family and the Dignitaries, to the Mosque, where the prayers were attended by the Muslims while the others waited outside. At the Royal Cemetery, beneath a green canopy, the late Hussein’s body, dressed in a simple white shroud, was removed from the coffin and placed in the grave, where the new King laid his father’s face to one side in rest and read passages from the Quran. Trumpets sounded the Last Post and a military bugler played, while guards fired a salute, and Queen Noor watched from the gates of the cemetery. At the time of his death, King Hussein was the longest-serving executive head of state in the world.
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A huge variety of dignitaries attended the Funeral, including: King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, King Harald V of Norway, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, King Albert II of Belgium, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain, the Prince of Wales, Prince Henrik of Denmark, Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Joséphine Charlotte of Luxembourg, Sultan Qaboos of Oman, the Aga Khan IV, King Constantine II and Queen Anne-Marie of Greece, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Queen Saleha of Brunei, Crown Prince Jasim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar, Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan, Crown Prince Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah of Kuwait, the Prince of Asturias, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina of Spain, Crown Prince Mohammed of Morocco, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah of Brunei, Crown Prince Alexander of Yugoslavia, Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, Princess Irene and Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark, Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud Al-Faisal and Prince Ermias Sahle Selassie of Ethiopia. Upon arrival, the female Royal guests discovered that as women, they could not attend the funeral itself, though an exception was made for female Heads of State, including Queen Beatrix.
