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- May 10, 2012
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[h=1]Carried through crowds to his final resting place, Saudi Arabia mourns King Abdullah as his funeral begins in Riyadh and thousands gather in Mecca[/h]
The body of King Abdullah was carried into a mosque in Riyadh this afternoon as his funeral began, less than 24 hours after Saudi Arabia was plunged into mourning by his death
King Abdullah's body was carried into a mosque in Riyadh, with thousands fathering for his funeral this afternoon
Death: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died last night aged 90 following a battle with pneumonia
The deceased monarch's body was clothed in white and shrouded in a simple cloth, in keeping with tradition
Saudi dignitaries crouched as they prepared to lift their late King into the Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Grand Mosque in Riyadh
Hundreds of well-wishers congregated in the mosque as the funeral got under way early this afternoon
Abdullah's death was confirmed on state television yesterday with channels cutting to Koranic verses - only used following the death of a senior royal.
His funeral is taking place in Riyadh, where, in keeping with Muslim traditions, Abdullah's body was shrouded in a simple cloth as he was carried in by men wearing red-and-white checked headgear.
He will later be buried in an unmarked grave, believed to show humility and a respect for Allah.
Abdullah's predecessors and other half brothers have also been interred in unmarked graves in the al-Aoud cemetery where he will be buried later, as well as in other simple graveyards in other cities.
Prayers will be led by King Salman, 79, who has succeeded his half-brother as King of Saudi Arabia.
The funeral is being attended by Muslim heads of state and other senior figures, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Also in attendance were Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, and Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
However, President Abdel Fatteh al-Sisi of Egypt, one of Abdullah's closest allies, was unable to attend thanks to poor weather stopping his flight from the Davos World Economic Forum.
Non-Muslim dignitaries will visit new monarch and crown prince, and other members of the Al Saud dynasty, in the coming days.
Prince Charles, on behalf of the Queen, will also visit Saudi Arabia in the coming days to offer his condolences, Clarence House announced.
In a profound mark of respect, Buckingham Palace lowered its flag to half-mast this afternoon.
Later, following the evening prayer an hour after sunset, the new King Salman and Crown Prince Muqrin will receive pledges of allegiance from other ruling family members, Wahhabi clerics, tribal chiefs, leading businessmen and other Saudi subjects.
The 90-year-old monarch's body was carried into the mosque less than 24 hours after he died in hospital
Saudi troops were on heavy guard as dignitaries arrived at the ceremony in Riyadh this afernoon
Pictures on Saudi state television showed thousands gathering in Mecca to mourn the death of King Abdullah
Thousands gather at Mecca to mourn Saudi King Abdullah
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Thousands of Saudis poured into Mecca just hours after the death of King Abdullah was announced
King Salman made a speech on Saudi state television following the death of his half-brother Abdullah, saying that he would continue the policies of his predecessors
Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to King Abdullah's work for peace in the region.
David Cameron, who visited Saudi Arabia in 2012, said: 'I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abd Al Aziz Al Saud.
'He will be remembered for his long years of service to the Kingdom, for his commitment to peace and for strengthening understanding between faiths.
'My thoughts and prayers are with the Saudi Royal Family and the people of the Kingdom at this sad time.
[h=3]PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA PAYS TRIBUTE TO KING ABDULLAH BIN ABDULAZIZ[/h]
President Barack Obama (left) pictured with the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz (right)
America's President Barack Obama paid tribute to Abdullah, who has been an ally of Washington in its fight against terror.
'As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions,' Obama said in a statement.
'One of those convictions was his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond.
'The closeness and strength of the partnership between our two countries is part of King Abdullah's legacy.'
Obama said that as the two allies 'worked together to confront many challenges, I always valued King Abdullah's perspective and appreciated our genuine and warm friendship.'
'I sincerely hope that the long and deep ties between our two Kingdoms will continue and that we can continue to work together to strengthen peace and prosperity in the world.'
President Barack Obama paid tribute to Abdullah, who has been an ally of Washington in its fight against terror.
'As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions,' Obama said in a statement.
'One of those convictions was his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond.
'The closeness and strength of the partnership between our two countries is part of King Abdullah's legacy.'
Obama said that as the two allies 'worked together to confront many challenges, I always valued King Abdullah's perspective and appreciated our genuine and warm friendship'.
Obama praised the 90-year-old for taking 'bold steps' in advancing the Arab Peace Initiative and credited the king for his dedication to education among his people and national outreach.
A statement released by the new king read: 'His Highness Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and all members of the family and the nation mourn the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who passed away at exactly 1am this morning.'
One of his last decisions is thought to have been referring the case of Raif Badawi, the Saudi blogger who has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes, to the High Court last week.
Abdullah - who fathered 22 children with about a dozen wives - had ruled Saudi Arabia as king since 2005, but had run the country as de facto regent for a decade before that after his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke.
Salman has been crown prince and defense minister since 2012. He was governor of Riyadh province for five decades before that.
The new monarch today vowed to maintain the same approach as his predecessors in his first address to the nation since his ascension to the throne.
In a speech on state television, he said: 'We will remain, with God's support, maintain the straight path that this country has advanced on since its establishment by the late King Abdulaziz.'
Salman also made an oblique reference to the chaos gripping the greater Middle East, with ISIS now holding a third of both Iraq and Syria, to the north of Saudi Arabia.
'The Arab and the Islamic nations are in dire need for solidarity and cohesion,' the new king said.
By immediately appointing Muqrin as his heir, subject to the approval of a family Allegiance Council, Salman has moved to avert widespread speculation about the immediate path of the royal succession in the world's top oil exporter.
However, King Salman has already had at least one stroke, leading to concerns that his ill-health could mean that he was not a fit candidate for the role.
A nation in mourning: Thousands more Saudis were seen sitting outside the sacred worship site in Mecca
Mourners gathered at the pilgrimage site ahead of King Abdullah's funeral, which is set to take place later today
Saudis took to the streets as the news broke that Abdullah had died, with his half-brother Salman becoming King
Saudis pray after the death of their 90-year-old King, who was the oldest monarch in the world at the time of his death
In a profound mark of respect, Buckingham Palace lowered its flag to half-mast this afternoon
King Salman, pictured arriving in Tokyo in 2014, has been part of the ruling clique of princes for decades and is thought likely to continue the main thrusts of Saudi strategic policy
The late Saudi king - pictured here with President Obama in 2010 - had been in hospital since December
King Abdullah meets with Obama in 2009 and 2014
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[h=3]NEW SAUDI KING WILL NEED A SHADOW BECAUSE HIS MIND WANDERS AND HIS CONSERVATIVE RULE WILL HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON OUR ECONOMIC DESTINY[/h] The death of King Abdullah aged 90 must focus attention on the peculiar power structures of the Kingdom. Abdullah had been king since 2005, but in practice ruled for twenty years after King Fahd was incapacitated by a stroke.
The succession was stitched up years ago, although it will be rubber stamped by the Council of Allegiance consisting of 35 princes who are sons or grandsons of the dynastys founder Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Power will pass to 80 years old Crown Prince Salman, though he suffers from dementia. A tall man, whose mind easily wanders, Salman is the custodian of family tradition, and kept a mini jail to imprison misbehaving royals.
The key appointment will be of a Crown Prince to shadow Salman. This will probably be his 71 -ear-old brother Muqrin, a capable former intelligence chief, though as the son of a Yemeni royal concubine, he is unlikely to become King himself. The royal sons of more prestigious Saudi princesses have stronger claims. In any event, the moment is fast approaching when the next king will be from the grandsons of Abdul Aziz, and there are hundreds of them among a total 7,000 princes.
King Abdullah (left) speaks with Prince Salman, the Saudi King's brother and Riyadh governor (right) before the king's departure to the U.S.
Why does any of this matter? Firstly, as a key oil producer (though no longer the largest) Saudi Arabia can influence our economic destiny, as it did recently by deliberately engineering a 60 per cent fall in the price of oil so as to damage costly US shale production and to keep up the Saudis share of the important Asian market by beggaring the competition.
Secondly, the Saudi royals are major players in the world of Sunni Islam, as the Custodians of the Two Holy Places, Mecca and Medina. Their oil wealth (and a $750billion sovereign wealth fund) enables them to bankroll autocratic Sunni regimes across the region and to keep in check the expansionary ambitions of Shia Iran.
Lastly, the Saud dynasty rests on a compact with the ferociously conservative Wahhabi clergy. These are the men who think a snowman is dangerously subversive. Although the monarchy effectively pays their salaries, it has also bankrolled the global spread of their pernicious influence, notably through schools that solely teach the Koran. While King Abdullah was a reformer who curbed their influence at home, he did nothing to stop them disseminating their theological poison from Nigeria to Pakistan. Many recruits to Islamist terror organisations come from such schools.
Successions are always moments of vulnerability for monarchies. How stable is Saudi Arabia? A falling oil price means that the Kingdom will have less money to pay out as welfare subsidies, for many Saudis are either under or unemployed. There is a huge state sector consisting of idle males and a lot of the graft is done by an army of ex pats from Europe and South Asia. The Kingdom is also notoriously wasteful with its sole resource. Apart from gas guzzling cars, air conditioning hums away even when Saudis are in Europe shopping. A lot of natural gas is just flared off rather than used in turbines.
King Abdullah arrives at the the opening ceremony of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Mecca in 2012
Saudi Arabia also faces a threat from ISIS in Iraq, so much so that it has decided to build a 650 mile fence to prevent incursions like the one that saw a police general killed last week. Its own Shia minority (15 per cent of the population) are discriminated against, and can be roiled up by Iran. Across the southern desert border, Shia Houthi rebels have recently taken over the capital, much to the horror of Riyadh which sees this as a further advance by Iran.
Worst of all, Saudi Arabia thinks the West will cut a nuclear deal with Iran, leaving it just short of having nuclear weapons, which will boost Iranian influence in the region. Saudi Arabia is also right to suspect that the West will leave President Assad in power in Syria (to defeat ISIS) who will go on the crush Saudi backed Sunni rebels.
For regardless of how much the West calls the Kingdom a key ally, the relationship is characterized by deep mistrust on both sides, and entirely self-interested and based on oil for defence sales. No one has forgotten that 15 of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals either or that despite its crass architectural modernity, Saudi Arabia is a land that still publicly executes people for sorcery and witchcraft.
Salman - who is now at the head of the world's top oil producing country - had recently taken over the ailing monarch's responsibilities.
He is a reputed moderate with a deft understanding of the competing demands of conservative clerics, powerful tribes and an increasingly youthful population.
In a meeting with the U.S. ambassador in March 2007, described in a cable released by WikiLeaks, Salman said the social and cultural reforms instigated by King Abdullah had to move slowly for fear of a conservative backlash.
He also argued against the introduction of democracy in the kingdom, citing regional and tribal divisions, and told the ambassador that a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was necessary for Middle East stability.
He is described as a physically imposing figure, and controls one of the Arab world's largest media groups.
[h=3]QUEEN ELIZABETH II BECOMES WORLD'S OLDEST MONARCH [/h]
Queen Elizabeth II (left) pictured with Prince Philip (center) and the late King Abdullah (right)
The death of King Abdullah at the age of 90 makes Queen Elizabeth II the oldest monarch in the world.
The Queen was born on April 21, 1926 and is 88 years old.
She became Queen at the age of 25, and has reigned through more than five decades, celebrating her diamond jubilee in 2013.
King Salman has been part of the ruling clique of princes for decades and is thought likely to continue the main thrusts of Saudi strategic policy, including maintaining the alliance with the United States and working towards energy market stability.
During his five decades as Riyadh governor he was reputedly adept at managing the delicate balance of clerical, tribal and princely interests that determine Saudi policy, while maintaining good relations with the West.
He was born in 1936 in Riyadh, then a mud-brick oasis town deep in the interior of a new kingdom that had not yet discovered oil, depending instead on revenue from pilgrims to Mecca and Medina, date farming and camel herding.
Yet one son, Prince Sultan bin Salman became the first Arab astronaut, flying on the U.S. space shuttle Discovery in 1985.
Prince Sultan is now the kingdom's tourism minister while another son, Prince Abdulaziz, is the deputy oil minister.
Oil prices shot up on the news of the king's death, although his passing is not expected to change the course of oil prices over the next few months.
The price of U.S. crude was up $1.07, or 2.3 per cent, to $47.38 a barrel in after-hours trading. Brent crude, an international benchmark, was up 1 per cent to $49 a barrel.
Analysts expect Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi to remain in his position for at least the next several months and for Saudi Arabia's export policy to remain the same.
King Abdullah was born in 1924 in Riyadh, one of the dozens of sons of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud.
He only had a rudimentary education, and had a strict upbringing - exemplified by three days he spent in prison as a young man as punishment by his father for failing to give his seat to a visitor - a violation of Bedouin hospitality.
A look back at the life and times of Saudi King Abdullah
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Prime Minister David Cameron pictured in 2012 meeting King Abdullah, who has died at the age of 90
Abdullah was selected as crown prince in 1982 on the day his half-brother Fahd ascended to the throne.
The decision was challenged by a full brother of Fahd, Prince Sultan, who wanted the title for himself. But the family eventually closed ranks behind Abdullah to prevent splits.
By the time he became de facto regent in 1995, when his predecessor King Fahd had a stroke, he was known to foreign diplomats as devout and conservative with strong ties to the kingdom's Bedouin tribes.
King Abdullah sought to modernise the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom with incremental but significant reforms, including nudging open greater opportunities for women during his 10-year reign.
The former king, who acquired a stutter as a child, was also a strong supporter education, building universities at home and increasing scholarships abroad for Saudi students.
He hoped to build a more skilled workforce in a country where more than half of the 20 million-strong population is under the age of 25.
However, he and fellow Sunni Arab monarchs also staunchly opposed the Middle East's wave of pro-democracy uprisings, seeing them as a threat to stability and their own rule.
Despite being allied with America, Abdullah was not afraid to push against them.
When he was regent, he pressed Washington to withdraw the troops it had deployed in the kingdom since the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The U.S. finally did so in 2003.
In 2000, Abdullah convinced the Arab League to approve an unprecedented offer that all Arab states would agree to peace with Israel if it withdrew from lands it captured in 1967.
The next year, he sent his ambassador in Washington to tell the Bush administration that it was too unquestioningly biased in favor of Israel and that the kingdom would from now on pursue its own interests apart from Washington's.
Bush soon after advocated for the first time the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Abdullah was forced to negotiate tricky waters: 15 of the 19 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, while many pointed out that the baseline ideology for al-Qaida and other groups stemmed from Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.
But when the militants began a wave of violence in the country in 2003, aimed at toppling the monarchy, Abdullah cracked down hard.
King Abdullah with Prince Charles, who will visit Saudi Arabia to pay his respects on behalf of the Queen
President George W. Bush and King Abdullah, pictured during the former president's visit to Saudi Arabia in 2008
For the next three years, security forces battled militants, finally forcing them to flee to neighboring Yemen.
There, they created a new al-Qaida branch, and Saudi Arabia has played a behind-the-scenes role in fighting it.
Personally, King Abdullah 'retained a love of the desert, along with a love of horsemanship' throughout his life, according to the the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
He is also said to have loved to read, establishing two libraries - the King Abdulaziz Library in Riyadh, and one in Casablanca, Morocco.
Paying tribute to the late King, Saudi Arabian Princess Ameerah al-Taweel tweeted: 'A king that was not feared but loved by the Saudi people and the entire Muslim population.
'We did not lose a king today, we all lost a father.'
King Abdullah was admitted to the King Abdulaziz Medical City of the National Guard in Riyadh in December to undergo medical tests, according to state media.
The royal court earlier this month said the king was suffering from pneumonia and had temporarily needed help to breathe through a tube, but that the procedure was successful.
His death was rumoured earlier today, however a member of the royal family took to social media to say reports of his death were premature.
'All that is being reported about King Abdullah's death is far from the truth,' Ibrahem al-Rawsa, identified as a journalist at state-run Saudi Press Agency, wrote on his Twitter account.
King Abdullah and Pope Benedict XVl meet in 2007
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In the long term, Saudi rulers have to manage the needs of a rapidly growing population plagued by structural unemployment, and an economy that remains overly dependent on oil revenue and undermined by lavish subsidies.
Saudi Arabia, which holds more than a fifth of the world's crude oil, also exerts some influence over the world's 1.6billion Muslims through its guardianship of Mecca and Medina, Islam's holiest sites.
Most senior members of the ruling al-Saud family are thought to favour similar positions on foreign and energy policy, but incoming kings have traditionally chosen to appoint new ministers to head top ministries like oil and finance.
In a country where the big ministries are dominated by royals, successive kings have kept the oil portfolio reserved for commoners and insisted on maintaining substantial spare output capacity to help reduce market volatility.
Late King Abdullah wearing traditional clothing in preparation for performing the traditional Bedouin war dance using swords called the 'Ardha' in 2003
- King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died last night after a battle with pneumonia
- Thousands gathered in Mecca today to mourn just hours after King's death
- The late King's funeral is being held in a grand mosque in Riyadh
- His body was wrapped in a white cloth as it was carried into the funeral
- Half-brother Salman, 79, has inherited the throne and will lead the prayers
- Buckingham Palace lowers Union Jack to half-mast as a mark of respect
- Prince Charles will visit Saudi Arabia to pay his condolences to late King
The body of King Abdullah was carried into a mosque in Riyadh this afternoon as his funeral began, less than 24 hours after Saudi Arabia was plunged into mourning by his death
King Abdullah's body was carried into a mosque in Riyadh, with thousands fathering for his funeral this afternoon
Death: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died last night aged 90 following a battle with pneumonia
The deceased monarch's body was clothed in white and shrouded in a simple cloth, in keeping with tradition
Saudi dignitaries crouched as they prepared to lift their late King into the Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Grand Mosque in Riyadh
Hundreds of well-wishers congregated in the mosque as the funeral got under way early this afternoon
Abdullah's death was confirmed on state television yesterday with channels cutting to Koranic verses - only used following the death of a senior royal.
His funeral is taking place in Riyadh, where, in keeping with Muslim traditions, Abdullah's body was shrouded in a simple cloth as he was carried in by men wearing red-and-white checked headgear.
He will later be buried in an unmarked grave, believed to show humility and a respect for Allah.
Abdullah's predecessors and other half brothers have also been interred in unmarked graves in the al-Aoud cemetery where he will be buried later, as well as in other simple graveyards in other cities.
Prayers will be led by King Salman, 79, who has succeeded his half-brother as King of Saudi Arabia.
The funeral is being attended by Muslim heads of state and other senior figures, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Also in attendance were Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, and Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
However, President Abdel Fatteh al-Sisi of Egypt, one of Abdullah's closest allies, was unable to attend thanks to poor weather stopping his flight from the Davos World Economic Forum.
Non-Muslim dignitaries will visit new monarch and crown prince, and other members of the Al Saud dynasty, in the coming days.
Prince Charles, on behalf of the Queen, will also visit Saudi Arabia in the coming days to offer his condolences, Clarence House announced.
In a profound mark of respect, Buckingham Palace lowered its flag to half-mast this afternoon.
Later, following the evening prayer an hour after sunset, the new King Salman and Crown Prince Muqrin will receive pledges of allegiance from other ruling family members, Wahhabi clerics, tribal chiefs, leading businessmen and other Saudi subjects.
The 90-year-old monarch's body was carried into the mosque less than 24 hours after he died in hospital
Saudi troops were on heavy guard as dignitaries arrived at the ceremony in Riyadh this afernoon
Pictures on Saudi state television showed thousands gathering in Mecca to mourn the death of King Abdullah
Thousands gather at Mecca to mourn Saudi King Abdullah
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Thousands of Saudis poured into Mecca just hours after the death of King Abdullah was announced
King Salman made a speech on Saudi state television following the death of his half-brother Abdullah, saying that he would continue the policies of his predecessors
Prime Minister David Cameron paid tribute to King Abdullah's work for peace in the region.
David Cameron, who visited Saudi Arabia in 2012, said: 'I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Abdullah bin Abd Al Aziz Al Saud.
'He will be remembered for his long years of service to the Kingdom, for his commitment to peace and for strengthening understanding between faiths.
'My thoughts and prayers are with the Saudi Royal Family and the people of the Kingdom at this sad time.
[h=3]PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA PAYS TRIBUTE TO KING ABDULLAH BIN ABDULAZIZ[/h]
President Barack Obama (left) pictured with the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz (right)
America's President Barack Obama paid tribute to Abdullah, who has been an ally of Washington in its fight against terror.
'As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions,' Obama said in a statement.
'One of those convictions was his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond.
'The closeness and strength of the partnership between our two countries is part of King Abdullah's legacy.'
Obama said that as the two allies 'worked together to confront many challenges, I always valued King Abdullah's perspective and appreciated our genuine and warm friendship.'
'I sincerely hope that the long and deep ties between our two Kingdoms will continue and that we can continue to work together to strengthen peace and prosperity in the world.'
President Barack Obama paid tribute to Abdullah, who has been an ally of Washington in its fight against terror.
'As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions,' Obama said in a statement.
'One of those convictions was his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the U.S.-Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond.
'The closeness and strength of the partnership between our two countries is part of King Abdullah's legacy.'
Obama said that as the two allies 'worked together to confront many challenges, I always valued King Abdullah's perspective and appreciated our genuine and warm friendship'.
Obama praised the 90-year-old for taking 'bold steps' in advancing the Arab Peace Initiative and credited the king for his dedication to education among his people and national outreach.
A statement released by the new king read: 'His Highness Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and all members of the family and the nation mourn the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who passed away at exactly 1am this morning.'
One of his last decisions is thought to have been referring the case of Raif Badawi, the Saudi blogger who has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes, to the High Court last week.
Abdullah - who fathered 22 children with about a dozen wives - had ruled Saudi Arabia as king since 2005, but had run the country as de facto regent for a decade before that after his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke.
Salman has been crown prince and defense minister since 2012. He was governor of Riyadh province for five decades before that.
The new monarch today vowed to maintain the same approach as his predecessors in his first address to the nation since his ascension to the throne.
In a speech on state television, he said: 'We will remain, with God's support, maintain the straight path that this country has advanced on since its establishment by the late King Abdulaziz.'
Salman also made an oblique reference to the chaos gripping the greater Middle East, with ISIS now holding a third of both Iraq and Syria, to the north of Saudi Arabia.
'The Arab and the Islamic nations are in dire need for solidarity and cohesion,' the new king said.
By immediately appointing Muqrin as his heir, subject to the approval of a family Allegiance Council, Salman has moved to avert widespread speculation about the immediate path of the royal succession in the world's top oil exporter.
However, King Salman has already had at least one stroke, leading to concerns that his ill-health could mean that he was not a fit candidate for the role.
A nation in mourning: Thousands more Saudis were seen sitting outside the sacred worship site in Mecca
Mourners gathered at the pilgrimage site ahead of King Abdullah's funeral, which is set to take place later today
Saudis took to the streets as the news broke that Abdullah had died, with his half-brother Salman becoming King
Saudis pray after the death of their 90-year-old King, who was the oldest monarch in the world at the time of his death
In a profound mark of respect, Buckingham Palace lowered its flag to half-mast this afternoon
King Salman, pictured arriving in Tokyo in 2014, has been part of the ruling clique of princes for decades and is thought likely to continue the main thrusts of Saudi strategic policy
The late Saudi king - pictured here with President Obama in 2010 - had been in hospital since December
King Abdullah meets with Obama in 2009 and 2014
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[h=3]NEW SAUDI KING WILL NEED A SHADOW BECAUSE HIS MIND WANDERS AND HIS CONSERVATIVE RULE WILL HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON OUR ECONOMIC DESTINY[/h] The death of King Abdullah aged 90 must focus attention on the peculiar power structures of the Kingdom. Abdullah had been king since 2005, but in practice ruled for twenty years after King Fahd was incapacitated by a stroke.
The succession was stitched up years ago, although it will be rubber stamped by the Council of Allegiance consisting of 35 princes who are sons or grandsons of the dynastys founder Abdul Aziz ibn Saud. Power will pass to 80 years old Crown Prince Salman, though he suffers from dementia. A tall man, whose mind easily wanders, Salman is the custodian of family tradition, and kept a mini jail to imprison misbehaving royals.
The key appointment will be of a Crown Prince to shadow Salman. This will probably be his 71 -ear-old brother Muqrin, a capable former intelligence chief, though as the son of a Yemeni royal concubine, he is unlikely to become King himself. The royal sons of more prestigious Saudi princesses have stronger claims. In any event, the moment is fast approaching when the next king will be from the grandsons of Abdul Aziz, and there are hundreds of them among a total 7,000 princes.
King Abdullah (left) speaks with Prince Salman, the Saudi King's brother and Riyadh governor (right) before the king's departure to the U.S.
Why does any of this matter? Firstly, as a key oil producer (though no longer the largest) Saudi Arabia can influence our economic destiny, as it did recently by deliberately engineering a 60 per cent fall in the price of oil so as to damage costly US shale production and to keep up the Saudis share of the important Asian market by beggaring the competition.
Secondly, the Saudi royals are major players in the world of Sunni Islam, as the Custodians of the Two Holy Places, Mecca and Medina. Their oil wealth (and a $750billion sovereign wealth fund) enables them to bankroll autocratic Sunni regimes across the region and to keep in check the expansionary ambitions of Shia Iran.
Lastly, the Saud dynasty rests on a compact with the ferociously conservative Wahhabi clergy. These are the men who think a snowman is dangerously subversive. Although the monarchy effectively pays their salaries, it has also bankrolled the global spread of their pernicious influence, notably through schools that solely teach the Koran. While King Abdullah was a reformer who curbed their influence at home, he did nothing to stop them disseminating their theological poison from Nigeria to Pakistan. Many recruits to Islamist terror organisations come from such schools.
Successions are always moments of vulnerability for monarchies. How stable is Saudi Arabia? A falling oil price means that the Kingdom will have less money to pay out as welfare subsidies, for many Saudis are either under or unemployed. There is a huge state sector consisting of idle males and a lot of the graft is done by an army of ex pats from Europe and South Asia. The Kingdom is also notoriously wasteful with its sole resource. Apart from gas guzzling cars, air conditioning hums away even when Saudis are in Europe shopping. A lot of natural gas is just flared off rather than used in turbines.
King Abdullah arrives at the the opening ceremony of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Mecca in 2012
Saudi Arabia also faces a threat from ISIS in Iraq, so much so that it has decided to build a 650 mile fence to prevent incursions like the one that saw a police general killed last week. Its own Shia minority (15 per cent of the population) are discriminated against, and can be roiled up by Iran. Across the southern desert border, Shia Houthi rebels have recently taken over the capital, much to the horror of Riyadh which sees this as a further advance by Iran.
Worst of all, Saudi Arabia thinks the West will cut a nuclear deal with Iran, leaving it just short of having nuclear weapons, which will boost Iranian influence in the region. Saudi Arabia is also right to suspect that the West will leave President Assad in power in Syria (to defeat ISIS) who will go on the crush Saudi backed Sunni rebels.
For regardless of how much the West calls the Kingdom a key ally, the relationship is characterized by deep mistrust on both sides, and entirely self-interested and based on oil for defence sales. No one has forgotten that 15 of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals either or that despite its crass architectural modernity, Saudi Arabia is a land that still publicly executes people for sorcery and witchcraft.
Salman - who is now at the head of the world's top oil producing country - had recently taken over the ailing monarch's responsibilities.
He is a reputed moderate with a deft understanding of the competing demands of conservative clerics, powerful tribes and an increasingly youthful population.
In a meeting with the U.S. ambassador in March 2007, described in a cable released by WikiLeaks, Salman said the social and cultural reforms instigated by King Abdullah had to move slowly for fear of a conservative backlash.
He also argued against the introduction of democracy in the kingdom, citing regional and tribal divisions, and told the ambassador that a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was necessary for Middle East stability.
He is described as a physically imposing figure, and controls one of the Arab world's largest media groups.
[h=3]QUEEN ELIZABETH II BECOMES WORLD'S OLDEST MONARCH [/h]
Queen Elizabeth II (left) pictured with Prince Philip (center) and the late King Abdullah (right)
The death of King Abdullah at the age of 90 makes Queen Elizabeth II the oldest monarch in the world.
The Queen was born on April 21, 1926 and is 88 years old.
She became Queen at the age of 25, and has reigned through more than five decades, celebrating her diamond jubilee in 2013.
King Salman has been part of the ruling clique of princes for decades and is thought likely to continue the main thrusts of Saudi strategic policy, including maintaining the alliance with the United States and working towards energy market stability.
During his five decades as Riyadh governor he was reputedly adept at managing the delicate balance of clerical, tribal and princely interests that determine Saudi policy, while maintaining good relations with the West.
He was born in 1936 in Riyadh, then a mud-brick oasis town deep in the interior of a new kingdom that had not yet discovered oil, depending instead on revenue from pilgrims to Mecca and Medina, date farming and camel herding.
Yet one son, Prince Sultan bin Salman became the first Arab astronaut, flying on the U.S. space shuttle Discovery in 1985.
Prince Sultan is now the kingdom's tourism minister while another son, Prince Abdulaziz, is the deputy oil minister.
Oil prices shot up on the news of the king's death, although his passing is not expected to change the course of oil prices over the next few months.
The price of U.S. crude was up $1.07, or 2.3 per cent, to $47.38 a barrel in after-hours trading. Brent crude, an international benchmark, was up 1 per cent to $49 a barrel.
Analysts expect Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi to remain in his position for at least the next several months and for Saudi Arabia's export policy to remain the same.
King Abdullah was born in 1924 in Riyadh, one of the dozens of sons of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud.
He only had a rudimentary education, and had a strict upbringing - exemplified by three days he spent in prison as a young man as punishment by his father for failing to give his seat to a visitor - a violation of Bedouin hospitality.
A look back at the life and times of Saudi King Abdullah
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Prime Minister David Cameron pictured in 2012 meeting King Abdullah, who has died at the age of 90
Abdullah was selected as crown prince in 1982 on the day his half-brother Fahd ascended to the throne.
The decision was challenged by a full brother of Fahd, Prince Sultan, who wanted the title for himself. But the family eventually closed ranks behind Abdullah to prevent splits.
By the time he became de facto regent in 1995, when his predecessor King Fahd had a stroke, he was known to foreign diplomats as devout and conservative with strong ties to the kingdom's Bedouin tribes.
King Abdullah sought to modernise the ultraconservative Muslim kingdom with incremental but significant reforms, including nudging open greater opportunities for women during his 10-year reign.
The former king, who acquired a stutter as a child, was also a strong supporter education, building universities at home and increasing scholarships abroad for Saudi students.
He hoped to build a more skilled workforce in a country where more than half of the 20 million-strong population is under the age of 25.
However, he and fellow Sunni Arab monarchs also staunchly opposed the Middle East's wave of pro-democracy uprisings, seeing them as a threat to stability and their own rule.
Despite being allied with America, Abdullah was not afraid to push against them.
When he was regent, he pressed Washington to withdraw the troops it had deployed in the kingdom since the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The U.S. finally did so in 2003.
In 2000, Abdullah convinced the Arab League to approve an unprecedented offer that all Arab states would agree to peace with Israel if it withdrew from lands it captured in 1967.
The next year, he sent his ambassador in Washington to tell the Bush administration that it was too unquestioningly biased in favor of Israel and that the kingdom would from now on pursue its own interests apart from Washington's.
Bush soon after advocated for the first time the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
After the September 11 attacks in 2001, Abdullah was forced to negotiate tricky waters: 15 of the 19 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, while many pointed out that the baseline ideology for al-Qaida and other groups stemmed from Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.
But when the militants began a wave of violence in the country in 2003, aimed at toppling the monarchy, Abdullah cracked down hard.
King Abdullah with Prince Charles, who will visit Saudi Arabia to pay his respects on behalf of the Queen
President George W. Bush and King Abdullah, pictured during the former president's visit to Saudi Arabia in 2008
For the next three years, security forces battled militants, finally forcing them to flee to neighboring Yemen.
There, they created a new al-Qaida branch, and Saudi Arabia has played a behind-the-scenes role in fighting it.
Personally, King Abdullah 'retained a love of the desert, along with a love of horsemanship' throughout his life, according to the the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
He is also said to have loved to read, establishing two libraries - the King Abdulaziz Library in Riyadh, and one in Casablanca, Morocco.
Paying tribute to the late King, Saudi Arabian Princess Ameerah al-Taweel tweeted: 'A king that was not feared but loved by the Saudi people and the entire Muslim population.
'We did not lose a king today, we all lost a father.'
King Abdullah was admitted to the King Abdulaziz Medical City of the National Guard in Riyadh in December to undergo medical tests, according to state media.
The royal court earlier this month said the king was suffering from pneumonia and had temporarily needed help to breathe through a tube, but that the procedure was successful.
His death was rumoured earlier today, however a member of the royal family took to social media to say reports of his death were premature.
'All that is being reported about King Abdullah's death is far from the truth,' Ibrahem al-Rawsa, identified as a journalist at state-run Saudi Press Agency, wrote on his Twitter account.
King Abdullah and Pope Benedict XVl meet in 2007
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In the long term, Saudi rulers have to manage the needs of a rapidly growing population plagued by structural unemployment, and an economy that remains overly dependent on oil revenue and undermined by lavish subsidies.
Saudi Arabia, which holds more than a fifth of the world's crude oil, also exerts some influence over the world's 1.6billion Muslims through its guardianship of Mecca and Medina, Islam's holiest sites.
Most senior members of the ruling al-Saud family are thought to favour similar positions on foreign and energy policy, but incoming kings have traditionally chosen to appoint new ministers to head top ministries like oil and finance.
In a country where the big ministries are dominated by royals, successive kings have kept the oil portfolio reserved for commoners and insisted on maintaining substantial spare output capacity to help reduce market volatility.
Late King Abdullah wearing traditional clothing in preparation for performing the traditional Bedouin war dance using swords called the 'Ardha' in 2003
