RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud, died abroad Saturday after an illness, state TV said. The death of the 85-year-old prince opens questions about the succession in the critical, oil-rich U.S. ally.
Sultan was the half-brother of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, who is two years older than him and has also been ailing and underwent back surgery last week.
The most likely candidate to replace Sultan as Abdullah's successor is Prince Nayef, the powerful interior minister in charge of internal security forces. After Sultan fell ill, the king gave Nayef – also his half-brother – an implicit nod in 2009 by naming him second deputy prime minister, traditionally the post of the second in line to the throne.
The announcement did not say where outside the kingdom he died or elaborate on Sultan's illness but Saudi official circles in Riyadh said he passed away at a hospital in New York. Saudi royal family members typically received medical treatment in New York.
Sultan, who was the kingdom's deputy prime minister and the minister of defense and aviation, has had a string of health issues. He underwent surgery in New York in February 2009 for an undisclosed illness and spent nearly a year abroad recuperating in the United States and at a palace in Agadir, Morocco.
"With grief, King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz mourns the death of Sultan bin Abdel Aziz Al Saud, crown prince and his brother," the palace said. The statement, which was carried on the official Saudi Press Agency, added that Sultan's funeral will be held on Tuesday afternoon in Riyadh at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque.
For the first time, however, the mechanism of picking the next crown prince is not entirely clear.
It is possible the king will for the first time put the decision of his heir to the Allegiance Council, a body Abdullah created a decade ago as one of his reforms, made up of his brothers and nephews with a mandate to determine the succession.
That would open the choice up to a degree of debate with the top echelons of the royal family. Nayef, however, will still be the front-runner.As defense minister, Sultan closed multibillion deals to establish the modern Saudi armed forces, including land, air, naval and air defense forces.
On more than one occasion, the deals implicated several of his sons in corruption scandals – charges they have denied.
Sultan is survived by 32 children from multiple wives. They include Bandar, the former ambassador to the United States who now heads the National Security Council, and Khaled, Sultan's assistant in the Defense Ministry.
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