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Summary World dignitaries were expected to begin arriving in Saudi Arabia to offer condolences.
The body of Prince Sultan, who died Saturday in a New York hospital, is expected to be repatriated to Riyadh Monday for a subdued funeral on Tuesday, in line with strict Islamic traditions applied in the ultra-conservative kingdom. It is the first time that the seat of the heir to the throne becomes vacant in the history of the oil-rich Gulf state.Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, a half-brother of King Abdullah and the kingdom’s internal security czar, who has held the interior portfolio for over three decades, is touted as the most likely heir.King Abdullah, who is also the prime minister, had in 2009 appointed Prince Nayef, 78, as second deputy premier, in a move interpreted as putting him in line for the throne.Sultan was the second deputy prime minister until the then crown prince Abdullah acceded to the throne in 2005.
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