Neck of the woods
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz died in Switzerland where he had gone for medical treatment. He was also minister of interior and his son was deputy minister of interior. Previous Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz had died eight months earlier while abroad for medical treatment. He was also minister of defense and his son Khalid was deputy minister of defense while his other son Bandar was chief of National Security. Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz is the new Crown Prince and Minister of Defense, one of his sons runs the Saudi daily Asharq Alawsat for him. Look for other sons of his to rise in the hierarchy. King Abdullah was lucky in that he did not go abroad for medical treatment while crown prince (I believe he went as king which apparently makes a difference). Salman was overseas in Europe when Nayef died and had to rush back home. I bet Salman will never go overseas for medical treatment, not until after the mandatory dangerous first eight months have passed.
This is all a warm up, the foreplay for the real engagement to come. That is when all the older sons of Abdulaziz have died off and the next generation of these thousands of princes face off over who gets to control the money and the power (sorry, no glory there).
Cheers
mhg
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