Though an heir would have been even more welcome, the birth of a daughterhis first childto Morocco's dashing King Hassan II stirred the nation to stentorian rapture last week. Twenty-one gun salutes echoed through Rabat and Casablanca.
All Moroccan radio stations joyously broadcast the official palace communique: "His Majesty the King, may God glorify him, has just become the father of a girl, born in Rome." What raised eyebrows as well as hurrahs was that, until after the birth announcement, nobody had really been sure that Hassan, 33, was married.
Besieged by inquisitive foreign reporters, Moroccan diplomats explained blandly that the...
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