Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

Crown Prince of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Incumbent
Mohammad bin Salman
since 21 June 2017
Style Sir (Informal)
His Royal Highness (Formal)
Residence King’s Palace, Riyadh
Appointer King of Saudi Arabia after the approval of the Allegiance Council
Inaugural holder Saud
11 May 1933
Saudi Arabia
This article is part of a series on the
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The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is the second most important position in Saudi Arabia, second to the king, and is his designated successor.

Currently, the Crown Prince assumes power with the approval of the Allegiance Commission after he is appointed by the king. This system was introduced to the country in the Abdullah Era. In the absence of the king, an order is issued to have the prince manage the affairs of the state until the king's return. The order changes the prince's title temporarily from the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister to Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques until the return of the king to the kingdom.

History of the position

The last Crown prince of the Second Saudi State was Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Ramhan ibn Saud, who lost the title when his father lost his state to the House of Rashid in the 19th century. His father abdicated the pretended throne to him in 1900, and began his famous wars of conquest of what would become the third Saudi state. When had taken enough land to become recognized as a genuine Emir, he designated his eldest son Turki as his heir. When Turki died during the flu pandemic of 1919, his only child was still in utero, and Abdulaziz designated his second son Saud to be heir and that further succession would be brother to brother.

When the Unification of Saudi Arabia was complete in 1932, Abdulaziz had himself declared king, and a year later Saud was declared Crown Prince.

When the old king died in 1953, Saud became king and his brother Faisal, as planned was declared Crown Prince. Then things became somewhat complicated. The King and his heir began feuding over whether or not King Saud was competent or not. Feisal took the title "Prime Minister" for a while, and on occasion took over the government against the king's wishes. Saud fought back, and things came to a head in 1964, when Feisal deposed his brother and became king.

The next in Line, Prince Mohammed, was deemed unsuitable, and was de jure Crown Prince for a short time before he was deposed in favor of Prince Khalid in 1965.

With Khalid not all that interested in being king, his crown prince, Fahd, took the reins of power as de facto ruler of the country. When King Fahd had a stroke in 1995, Crown Prince Abdullah became the formal Regent for the balance of the reign.

As the nation became a gerontocracy in the 2000s and early '10s, three Crown Princes died of old age in rapid succession. In the meantime, more and more princes were passed over. In January 2015, Ibn Saud's last son, Muqrin, became Crown Prince, only to be ousted three months later in favor of his nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef.

MbN, as he was commonly known, was himself deposed in June of 2017, and replaced by Mohammad bin Salman, known as MbS.

Crown Princes of Saudi Arabia (1933–present)

Name
 Lifespan
 Reign start
 Reign end
 Notes
 Family
 Image
Saud
  • سعود
 (1902-01-15)15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969(1969-02-23) (aged 67) 11 May 1933 9 November 1953
(became King.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Wadhah bint Muhammad bin 'Aqab Saud Saud of Saudi Arabia
Faisal
  • فيصل
 (1906-04-14)14 April 1906 – 25 March 1975(1975-03-25) (aged 68) 9 November 1953 2 November 1964
(became King.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Tarfa bint Abduallah bin Abdulateef al Sheekh Saud Faisal of Saudi Arabia
Muhammad
  • محمد
 (1910-03-04)4 March 1910 – 25 November 1988(1988-11-25) (aged 78) 2 November 1964 29 March 1965
(resigned.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Al Jawhara bint Musaed bin Jiluwi Saud Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Khalid
  • خالد
 (1913-02-13)13 February 1913 – 13 June 1982(1982-06-13) (aged 69) 29 March 1965 25 March 1975
(became King.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Al Jawhara bint Musaed bin Jiluwi Saud Khalid of Saudi Arabia
Fahd
  • فهد
 (1921-03-16)16 March 1921 – 1 August 2005(2005-08-01) (aged 84) 25 March 1975 13 June 1982
(became King.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi Saud Fahd of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah
  • عبد الله
 (1924-08-01)1 August 1924 – 22 January 2015(2015-01-22) (aged 90) 13 June 1982 1 August 2005
(became King.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim Saud Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Sultan
  • سلطان
 (1931-08-01)1 August 1931 – 22 October 2011(2011-10-22) (aged 80) 1 August 2005 22 October 2011
(died in office.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi Saud Sultan bin Abdulaziz
Nayef
  • نايف
 (1934-08-23)23 August 1934 – 16 June 2012(2012-06-16) (aged 77) 29 October 2011 16 June 2012
(died in office.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi Saud Nayef bin Abdulaziz
Salman
  • سلمان
 (1935-12-31) 31 December 1935 16 June 2012 23 January 2015
(became King.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi Saud Salman bin Abdulaziz
Muqrin
  • مقرن
 (1945-09-15) 15 September 1945 23 January 2015 29 April 2015
(resigned.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Baraka Al Yamaniyah Saud Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
Muhammad bin Nayef
  • محمد بن نايف
 (1959-08-30) 30 August 1959 29 April 2015 21 June 2017
(resigned.)		 Son of Nayef bin Abdulaziz and Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed bin Jiluwi Al Saud
Grandson of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi		 Saud Muhammad bin Naif
Mohammad bin Salman
  • محمد بن سلمان
 (1985-08-31) 31 August 1985 21 June 2017 Incumbent Son of Salman bin Abdulaziz and Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan
Grandson of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi		 Saud

Second Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia (1967–2011)

Name
 Lifespan
 Reign start
 Reign end
 Notes
 Family
 Image
Fahd
  • فهد
 (1921-03-16)16 March 1921 – 1 August 2005(2005-08-01) (aged 84) 1967 1975
(became Crown Prince.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi Saud Fahd of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah
  • عبد الله
 (1924-08-01)1 August 1924 – 22 January 2015(2015-01-22) (aged 90) 1975 1982
(became Crown Prince.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim Saud Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Sultan
  • سلطان
 (1931-08-01)1 August 1931 – 22 October 2011(2011-10-22) (aged 80) 1982 2005
(became Crown Prince.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi Saud Sultan bin Abdulaziz
Nayef
  • نايف
 (1934-08-23)23 August 1934 – 16 June 2012(2012-06-16) (aged 77) 2009 2011
(became Crown Prince.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi Saud Nayef bin Abdulaziz

Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (2014–present)

The honorific title of "Deputy Crown Prince" only dates from 2014, but the position, under the title of "Second Deputy Prime Minister" goes back to 1967, in order to designate who was the senior prince not excluded from the throne.

By late 1964, it became obvious to those at court that Crown Prince Mohammed was not suitable for the throne and that King Faisal wanted to also bypass the next three in line and install Prince Fahd to be his heir. However, a faction loyal to the soon-to-be-out Crown Prince wouldn't have it, so as a compromise, Prince Khalid, who was considered a nonentity, would be next in line; princes Saad and Nasir, who had no qualifications aside from seniority, would be skipped as planned, and that Fahd would take the title of "Second Deputy Prime Minister" to cement his place as second in line.

When King Faisal was murdered in 1975, King Khalid designated Prince Abdullah, who was next in line anyway, as second deputy.

As King Khalid became ill with old age, the question of who would succeed Abdullah as Second Deputy became more pressing. Prince Musa'id, whose son had murdered King Faisal, long knew he was out and Prince Bandar demanded and got, a huge bribe to stand down. Prince Sultan, despite opposition, was appointed when the old king died.

Muqrin was the first one to hold deputy crown prince position in 2014.

With the internal politics of the House of Saud being "clear as mud" the seniority system came to an end when scores of grandsons were bypassed in favor of Muhammad bin Nayef.

Name
 Lifespan
 Reign start
 Reign end
 Notes
 Family
 Image
Muqrin
  • مقرن
 (1945-09-15) 15 September 1945 27 March 2014 23 January 2015
(became Crown Prince.)		 Son of Ibn Saud and Baraka Al Yamaniyah Al Saud Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
Muhammad bin Nayef
  • محمد بن نايف
 (1959-08-30) 30 August 1959 23 January 2015 29 April 2015
(became Crown Prince.)		 Son of Nayef bin Abdulaziz and Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed bin Jiluwi Al Saud
Grandson of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi		 Al Saud Mohammad bin Salman
Mohammad bin Salman
  • محمد بن سلمان
 (1985-08-31) 31 August 1985 29 April 2015 21 June 2017
(became Crown Prince.)		 Son of King Salman and Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan Al Hithalayn Al Saud Mohammed bin Salman

See also

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