The King Of Jordan Was Once An Officer On Star Trek
RED ALERT, ARM PHOTON TORPEDOES, YOUR MAJESTY.
Jordan's King Abdullah II is trained to fly helicopters and this photo of him in uniform was posted on the royal court's official Facebook page on Wednesday. But did you know that he has another uniform hanging in his closet?
In this clip from a 1996 episode of Star Trek: Voyager that's recently begun circulating again, you can clearly see him standing there with Ensign Harry Kim and Neelix.
Voyager executive producer Jeri Taylor commented, "Take away the title and the trappings, and at the core you have a Star Trek fan." [...] The prince – who, at the time of his cameo, was thirty-four years old – enthused, "I would have been thrilled just to visit the set but this is too much." After being put into makeup, given pointed sideburns and then fitted for his uniform [...] he rehearsed and shot his scene.
Judging by the pips on his collar, the prince was a Lieutenant (junior grade) in Starfleet when the USS Voyager launched. And the teal of his uniform means he's some kind of science officer.
While they clearly had more pressing matters to discuss when they met on Monday, we can only hope he and known Star Trek fan President Obama have found time to debate Kirk versus Picard over the years.
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Hayes Brown is a world news editor and reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact Hayes Brown at hayes.brown@buzzfeed.com.
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