Prince Muqrin Appointed Deputy Crown Prince

In a televised royal decree aired earlier today, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud appointed his brother, Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, as deputy Crown Prince.

This announcement officially placed Prince Muqrin, who is 70 years old, as second in line to the kingdom’s throne following his elder brother, Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz. According to the royal court the decree cannot be altered “in any way or by any person, reason or interpretation” and Prince Muqrin will replace the Crown Prince or the King and Crown Prince in case of vacancy.

Prince Muqrin is the youngest surviving son of the late King Abdulaziz Al Saud, the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He completed his secondary education in the capital Riyadh and graduated university in the UK with a degree in aeronautics in 1968. The Prince is a father of thirteen children from his two marriages to Abta bint Hamoud Al Rashid and Nura Almuqrin.

Prince Muqrin, who previously served as the head of the general intelligence, will continue his current job as the second Deputy Prime Minister.

The succession to the throne in Saudi Arabia is confined only to the male sons of the Kingdom’s founder King Abdulaziz Al Saud, who passed away in 1953. During the reign of the current King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the position of Crown Prince has been taken over by three princes due to the death of two of them, former Crown Princes Sultan and Nayef.

Filed under Saudi Arabia
Tagged King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, Succession.