Prince Hamzeh, his 18-year-old half-brother and the elder son of Hussein's widow, Queen Noor, was appointed crown prince.

ECONOMIST: Jordan��s new king

His widow, Queen Monique, and the son in whose favour he abdicated, King Norodom Sihamoni, then lit the funeral pyre at the 15-storey-high purpose-built crematorium.

BBC: Cambodia cremates former King Sihanouk

Controversy also flared up recently after Belgium's dowager Queen Fabiola, the widow of Albert's brother, Baudouin, was accused of setting up a foundation to avoid the country's high inheritance taxes.

WSJ: An Austere Coronation for New Dutch King

In 1925, Queen Alexandra, the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark and widow of King Edward VII of Britain, died.

CNN: Wednesday,