Saudi king's son Mohammed bin Salman is new crown prince

[frigidmagi]

bbc

Saudi Arabia's king has appointed his son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince - replacing his nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef, as first in line to the throne.

King Salman's decree also means prince Mohammed bin Salman, 31, will become deputy prime minister while continuing as defence minister.

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 57, has also been removed from his role as head of domestic security, state media say.
He has pledged allegiance to the new crown prince, news agency SPA reports.

King Salman acceded to the throne in 2015 after the death of his half-brother Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz.

[LadyTevar]

The BBC has a long write up about it. In essence, it seems the change was made because the young Prince bin Salman has a stronger following from and connection to the younger generation of Saudis.

[Lys]

The succession of Saudi Kings is a bit of a ride:

Adbdulaziz (r. 1932-1953), died of heart disease and succeeded by his eldest surviving son
Saud (r. 1953-1964), was forced to abdicate and replaced by a half-brother
Faisal (r. 1964-1975), assassinated by his nephew, succeeded by a half-brother
Khalid (r. 1975-1982), died of heart disease, succeeded by a half-brother
Fahd (r. 1982-2005), debilitating stroke in 1995, unspecified cause of death, succeeded by a half-brother
Abdullah (r. 2005-2015), outlived two crown princes (full brothers of Fahd), had back problems, heart problems, and lung cancer, but died of pneumonia, succeeded by a half-brother (also a full brother of Fahd).

Salman (r. 2015-Present), his first crown prince was a half-brother, but three months into his reign he appointed his full nephew as his heir, and just now his own son. He is the first since Abdulaziz himself to prepare to pass the crown to a different generation, and not because he ran out of brothers. Rather, because he realizes the sons of Ibn Saud are getting old, and his predecessor had the foresight to pass a law that makes Abdulaziz' grandsons eligible for the crown.