Editing Hussein of Jordan (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Six years Hussien with Mother (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|Hussein (age six) and his mother, [[Zein al-Sharaf]], 1941]]
Hussein was born at Al-Qasr Al-Sagheer at [[Raghadan Palace]] in [[Amman]] on 14 November 1935 to Crown Prince [[Talal of Jordan|Talal]] and Princess [[Zein al-Sharaf]].<ref name="khbiwa">{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/king-hussein-bin-talal|title=Biography – King Hussein bin Talal|access-date=4 April 2021|publisher=jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Royal Palaces |url=http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/royal_palaces.html |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=www.kinghussein.gov.jo}}</ref> He was the eldest among his siblings, three brothers and two sisters{{snd}}Princess Asma, [[Prince Muhammad bin Talal|Prince Muhammad]], [[Prince Hassan bin Talal|Prince Hassan]], Prince Muhsin, and [[Princess Basma bint Talal|Princess Basma]].<ref name="nytkhdo">{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Judith |date=8 February 1999 |title=Death of a King; Cautious King Took Risks in Straddling Two Worlds |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/08/world/death-of-a-king-cautious-king-took-risks-in-straddling-two-worlds.html |access-date=2 July 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> During one cold Ammani winter, his baby sister Princess Asma died from [[pneumonia]], an indication of how poor his family was then{{snd}}they could not afford heating in their house.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

Hussein was the [[namesake]] of his paternal great-grandfather, [[Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca|Hussein bin Ali]] ([[Sharif of Mecca]]), the leader of the 1916 [[Arab Revolt]] against the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/kingdom-remembers-sharif-hussein-bin-ali|title=Kingdom remembers Sharif Hussein Bin Ali|date=3 June 2017|access-date=1 July 2017|work=The Jordan Times}}</ref> Hussein claimed to be an [[Patrilineality|agnatic]] descendant of [[Muhammad]]'s daughter [[Fatimah]] and her husband [[Ali]], the [[Rashidun Caliphate|fourth caliph]], since Hussein belonged to the [[Hashemite]] family, which had ruled [[Mecca]] for over 700 years{{snd}}until its [[Saudi conquest of Hejaz|1925 conquest]] by the [[House of Saud]]{{snd}}and has ruled [[Jordan]] since 1921.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|p=2}}<ref name="CNN1">{{cite news |title=King Hussein is dead |url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/meast/9902/07/king.hussein.obit/|publisher=CNN |date=7 February 1999 |access-date=1 July 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Corboz |first=Elvire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BOkKngEACAAJ |title=Guardians of Shi'ism: Sacred Authority and Transnational Family Networks |date=2015 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-9144-9 |page=271'/}}</ref> The Hashemites, the oldest ruling dynasty in the [[Muslim world]], are the second-oldest-ruling dynasty in the world (after the [[Imperial House of Japan]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://themuslim500.com/profile/king-abdullah-ii-jordan|title=Profile: King Abdullah II of Jordan|work=themuslim500.com|access-date=30 June 2017|date=1 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218105901/http://themuslim500.com/profile/king-abdullah-ii-jordan|archive-date=18 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hussein's maternal grandmother, Widjan Hanim, was the daughter of Shakir Pasha who was the Ottoman governor of Cyprus.<ref>{{citation|year=2015|title=Jordan remembers Queen Zein|url=http://jordantimes.com/news/local/jordan-remembers-queen-zein-2|quote=Queen Zein was born on August 2, 1916, the daughter of Sharif Jamil Bin Nasser, governor of Huran and nephew of Sharif Hussein Bin Ali of Mecca, and Wijdan Hanim, daughter of Shakir Pasha, governor of Cyprus.|publisher=[[Jordan Times]]|access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref>
[[File:King Abdullah on Jordan Independence day, 25 May 1946.jpg|thumb|right|Hussein (age eleven) seen behind his grandfather [[Abdullah I of Jordan|King Abdullah I]] after the independence of Jordan was declared, 25 May 1946.]]
The young prince started his elementary education in Amman. He was then educated at [[Victoria College, Alexandria|Victoria College]] in [[Alexandria]], Egypt.<ref name="khbiwa"/> He proceeded to [[Harrow School]] in England, where he befriended his paternal second cousin [[Faisal II of Iraq]], who was also studying there.<ref name="khbiwa"/> Faisal was then King of [[Kingdom of Iraq|Hashemite Iraq]], but was [[Regent|under regency]] since he was still a minor.<ref name="khbiwa"/>

Hussein's grandfather, [[Abdullah I of Jordan|King Abdullah I]], the founder of modern Jordan, did not see in his two sons Talal and [[Prince Nayef bin Abdullah|Nayef]] potential for kingship, and therefore he focused his efforts on the upbringing of his grandson Hussein.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|pp=44–45}} A special relationship grew between the two. Abdullah assigned Hussein a private tutor for extra Arabic lessons,{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|pp=44–45}} and Hussein acted as interpreter for his grandfather during his meetings with foreign leaders, as Abdullah understood English but could not speak it.{{sfn|Shlaim|2009|pp=44–45}} On 20 July 1951, 15-year-old Prince Hussein travelled to [[Jerusalem]] to perform [[Friday prayers]] at the [[Temple Mount|Masjid Al-Aqsa]] with his grandfather.<ref name="khbiwa"/> A Palestinian assassin opened fire on Abdullah and his grandson, amid rumours that the King had been planning to sign a peace treaty with the newly established state of Israel.<ref name="CNN1"/> Abdullah died, but Hussein survived the assassination attempt and, according to witnesses, pursued the assassin.<ref name="CNN1"/> Hussein was also shot, but the bullet was deflected by a medal on his uniform that his grandfather had given him.<ref name="CNN1"/>