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Thursday, December 2, 2010

British grandfather of Jordan king dies

AMMAN — The British grandfather of Jordan's King Abdullah II -- retired Colonel Walter Percy Gardiner -- died on Wednesday at his Amman home, a family friend said. He was 95.

"Colonel Gardiner died in his sleep in Amman, a few days before his 96th birthday which falls on December 12," the friend told AFP.

Gardiner lived in Amman with his daughter, Princess Muna, born Antoinette Gardiner, wife of the late king Hussein and King Abdullah's mother.

Originally from Norfolk in the east of England, Gardiner married Doris Sutton in 1938. She died in 1994.

"Colonel Gardiner will be buried next to his wife on Thursday in a Jordan Valley farm owned by their daughter Princess Muna," the friend said.

Their daughter Antoinette, married king Hussein in 1961 and divorced in 1972.

The couple had four children, King Abdullah, Prince Feisal and princesses Zein and Aisha.

"King Abdullah has always loved and admired his grandfather from an early age," another family friend said.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

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