A King Comes Home

The people of Jordan had been warned to make no fuss over the homecoming of their unbalanced King. On King Talal's own orders, only 30 people--all of them dignitaries--would be allowed at the airport. Everything began properly as planned. A 25-gun royal salute blasted out from Arab Legion cannon and rolled off the surrounding hillsides, reverberating through Amman. A twin-engined De Havilland Dove rolled to a stop, and out stepped 43-year-old King Talal, looking worn and taut. He mumbled a few words, which no one could understand, to Lieut. General John Bagot Glubb Pasha, the powerful Briton who commands Talal's Arab Legion, and to Premier Tewfik Pasha Abul Huda, who kissed him on both cheeks.

Talal stepped wearily into his Cadillac and began the ride to lonely isolation in the white stone Basman Palace, on a hilltop overlooking his capital. Then came the surprise. As his speeding car kicked up swirling dust, thousands of his subjects--disregarding instructions--lined the road from the airport to roar a feverish welcome. Men waved banners: "Welcome Back, Great Hashemite King" and "Come Back to Your Kingdom." From the rooftops, veiled women chanted a wailing Arabic song of joy.

After seven fitful weeks in Europe, in which he had driven his queen from his side, and disregarded all instructions to see his Swiss doctors (TIME, June 23), Talal had come home. Changing from Western to Arabic dress, he capped his kaffiyeh not with the usual double strand of gold agal worn by all royalty, but with the simple black commoner's cord he often prefers. A three-man regency council will continue to govern Jordan until either Talal recovers, or his son, Crown Prince Hussein, comes of age next May.

Day after his return, Talal mounted a brown charger and rode into downtown Amman, among his people. They swarmed around, cheering him, until the police had to hold back the crowds. Illness had only increased the popularity of Jordan's pathetic King, who would probably never rule his people again.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.