The state funeral of King Hussein of Jordan, who died yesterday after a protracted battle against cancer, will bring together scores of heads of states and dignitaries in a procession that will test the limits of international diplomacy.
World leaders were last night beginning to congregate in Amman for today's official mourning in a ceremony that will require Arab and Israeli statesmen to mingle with President Clinton, a high-level delegation from Iraq and possibly even President Yeltsin.
The British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, was one of the first to arrive. "King Hussein has a very special place in the hearts of the entire international community," he said. "He touched people's lives in a very direct way."
French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Spain's King Juan Carlos also paid tribute to the king on their arrival. Leaders from Ireland, Austria, Italy and the Czech Republic also flew in.
Britain's Prince Charles briefly sipped bedouin coffee at the airport with Jordan's Prime Minister Fayez al-Tarawnah.
Arab leaders, including Algerian President Liamine Zeroual and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah, also arrived.
After being sworn in as the new monarch of the Hashemite kingdom, King Abdullah named his 18-year-old half-brother Hamza, King Hussein's favourite son, as the new crown prince.
King Abdullah, a 37-year-old military officer with little experience of the corridors of power, was sworn in as the new monarch less than three hours after his father's death was announced to a grieving nation.
In a televised address to Jordan's 4.6 million people, the new king vowed to follow his father's policies, including the course of diplomatic engagement with Israel which Jordan has pursued since 1994.
"We will preserve the course that Hussein set," King Abdullah said.
Public grief was evident all over the kingdom, and the council of government ministers declared 40 days of mourning.
Tributes to King Hussein flooded in from all over the world. "No words can convey what King Hussein meant to the people he led for almost half a century," President Clinton said.
The UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, spoke of his "deep and personal sense of grief".
President Ezer Weizman of Israel said "the Israeli people bow their heads at the passing of a noble friend".
King Hussein returned from the US last Friday after last-ditch attempts failed to control the non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer diagnosed in 1998. He was taken to the main military hospital in Jordan, and his condition deteriorated quickly.
Early in the afternoon Crown Prince Abdullah and his entire family arrived at parliament in Amman for the swearing-in ceremony to confirm King Hussein's eldest son as the next monarch.
The President, Mrs McAleese, and the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, will be at the funeral.