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Monday, 30 July, 2001, 16:22 GMT 17:22 UK
Jordan's king of disguise
How the king may have appeared
Jordan's King Abdullah has donned a false white beard in his latest undercover scheme to check what life is like for ordinary Jordanians.
King Abdullah, 39, turned up at Amman's income tax department pretending to be just another man in the queue, as part of his drive to check up on the country's bureaucracy. As well as the beard, he wore shabby white robes and a traditional headdress. Despite his face being printed on the country's bank notes and stamps, his disguise was so effective that workers in the tax office only realised who the visitor was when they heard the king's sirening motorcade speed away. The king has gone undercover before, posing as a TV reporter and taxi driver. Last year he went to a government hospital and heard patients gripe about its services. Populist touch
In the latest visit, he turned up at the tax office with his half brother Prince Ali, who submitted a form claiming a tax return. The king and prince were reported to have mingled with other people in the queue, though there was no word on whether tax officials were left quaking after such a secretive visit from the boss. King Abdullah's father King Hussein sometimes mixed with his subjects, draping a headdress across his face. King Abdullah's more elaborate disguises, and the periodic leaks about his antics to the media, suggest the son has inherited the father's populist touch, and his canny understanding of publicity.
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