It was made public that King Hussein was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota in July 1998.

The palace sources said King Hussein's family had decided not to switch off his life support machine, preferring to let him die naturally.

His eldest son, Abdullah, who was named Crown Prince on 24 January 1999, was called to the hospital and, after his arrival, the king was removed from the respirator and pronounced dead.

"[citation needed] A few hours after Hussein's death was announced, Abdullah went before a hastily called session of the National Assembly and took the oath of office.

[6] The flag-draped coffin carrying the body of King Hussein accompanied by honor guard troops wearing Keffiyeh were taken on a 90-minute procession through the streets of the capital city of Amman.

Upon arrival at Raghadan Palace, the new king, Hussein's eldest son, Abdullah II, and the royal princes formally received the coffin.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, his wife Nane Maria Annan and UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura attended the funeral along with many of their colleagues such as European Union's Jacques Santer, NATO's Javier Solana, IMF's Michel Camdessus and African Union's Salim Ahmed Salim.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led the country's delegation, including Chief Rabbi Yesrael Lau and a representative of the families of seven teenage girls killed by a Jordanian soldier in 1997.

[citation needed] The funeral also brought together enemies, including the leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Nayef Hawatmeh, who approached the Israeli president Ezer Weizman, praised him as a man of peace and shook his hand.

An exception was made for female heads of state, including Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and President Mary McAleese of Ireland.

[26] In memory of Hussein's death, the governments of Jordan,[27] India,[28] Egypt,[29] Algeria,[30] Kuwait,[31] United Arab Emirates,[31] Oman,[32] Palestine, Yemen,[33] and Syria[34] declared periods of official mourning and flew their flags at half mast.

"[36] The Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides described him as "a leader of international prestige, who contributed greatly to all efforts towards finding a solution to the Middle East problem.

"[37] Russian President Boris Yeltsin said Hussein was "invaluable to the formation of a new image of the Middle East, free of stereotypes of confrontation and enmity.