Hussein of Jordan was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdullah II. Hussein was born in Amman on 14 November 1935 to Crown Prince Talal and Princess Zein Al-Sharaf. Hussein was the eldest among his siblings, three brothers and two sistersPrincess Asma, Prince Muhammad, Prince Hassan, Prince Muhsin, and Princess Basma. During one cold Ammani winter, his baby sister Princess Asma died from pneumonia, an indication of how poor his family was thenthey could not afford heating in their house. Hussein was the namesake of his great-grandfather, Hussein bin Ali (Sharif of Mecca), the leader of the 1916 Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire.
Hussein of Jordan son Hussein as crown prince on 9 September 1951. After a reign lasting less than thirteen months, the Parliament forced King Talal to abdicate due to his mental statedoctors had diagnosed schizophrenia. In his brief reign, Talal had introduced a modern, somewhat liberal constitution in 1952 that is still in use today. Hussein was proclaimed king on 11 August 1952, succeeding to the throne three months before his 17th birthday. A telegram from Jordan was brought in to Hussein while he was staying with his mother abroad in Lausanne, Switzerland, addressed to 'His Majesty King Hussein'. "I did not need