rania abdullah

Queen Rania's husband, the King of Jordan, recovering after emergency spinal surgery

The 60-year-old is in Germany

Rebecca Lewis - Los Angeles
Los Angeles correspondentLos Angeles
April 13, 2022

Queen Rania's husband, Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein the King of Jordan, has undergone emergency spinal surgery.

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The 60-year-old traveled to Frankfurt, Germany, on Sunday for an intervertebral disc in the spine, which has reportedly caused him much pain in recent years.

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"The Royal Hashemite Court announces that His Majesty King Abdullah II had successful surgery to treat a herniated disc in the thoracic spine area," the Jordanian royal family later shared on Twitter.

A palace statement, released before he traveled, said the operation in the specialist hospital will require a week of rest before the monarch can return to Jordan.

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The King's son, 27-year-old Crown Prince Hussein, is taking over his father's duties during this week.

"His Highness Prince Hussein, the crown prince, took the constitutional oath as regent to king, in the presence of the Cabinet," official broadcast media said on Saturday.

king of jordan

King Abdullah as a young man

The King has long suffered back problems, with Jordanian media reporting that it had been the result of the extreme physical activity involved in his military duties as a younger man.

Abdullah served as a paratrooper in the Jordanian Army.

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