His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal was born in Amman to a branch of the Hashemite family directly descended from the Prophet Muhammad, in the forty-second generation of descendants. His Royal Highness is the youngest son of their late Majesties King Talal and Queen Zein El Sharaf, and is the brother of His late Majesty King Hussein, serving him as a close political advisor, confidant, and deputy, as well as acting as regent in the King’s absence from the country.
Prince Hassan had his early schooling in Amman. In 1963, HRH went to Harrow School, then matriculated to Christ Church College, Oxford. Prince Hassan has initiated, founded, and is actively involved in a number of Jordanian and international institutes and committees.
Prince Hassan initiated and hosted ongoing consultations with the Orthodox Centre of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at Chambesy, Switzerland, the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue at the Vatican and The Interfaith Foundation in the United Kingdom through the aegis of the St. George’s House, Windsor. Prince Hassan is a founder and now President of the Foundation for Inter-religious and Intercultural Research and Dialogue (FIIRD), which was established in Geneva in 1999.
Prince Hassan chairs and is a member of a number of international committees and organizations. In November 1999, at the Seventh World Assembly of the World Conference of Religions for Peace (WCRP), held in Amman, Prince Hassan accepted the position of Moderator of the WCRP, until the Eighth World Assembly, in 2006, after which HRH was awarded the title of President Emeritus.
He has written nine books and received more than two dozen honorary degrees.