Heir apparent Muhammad bin Nayef Formation 22 September 1932 | First monarch Abdulaziz (Ibn Saud) Residence King’s Palace, Riyadh | |
 | ||
Style The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques | ||
The King of Saudi Arabia is Saudi Arabia's head of state and absolute monarch (i.e. head of government). He serves as the head of the Saudi monarchy — House of Saud. The King is called the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (خادم الحرمين الشريفين). The title, which signifies Saudi Arabia's jurisdiction over the mosques of Masjid al Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, replaced His Majesty (صاحب الجلالة) in 1986.
Contents
History
King Abdulaziz (also known as Ibn Saud) began conquering today's Saudi Arabia in 1902, by restoring his family as emirs of Riyadh. He then proceeded to conquer first the Nejd (1922) and then the Hejaz (1925). He progressed from Sultan of Nejd, to King of Hejaz and Nejd, and finally to King of Saudi Arabia in 1932.
Succession
The kings since Ibn Saud's death have all been his sons, and all likely immediate successors to the reigning King Salman will be from his progeny. Sons of Ibn Saud are considered to have primary claim on the throne of Saudi Arabia. This makes the Saudi monarchy quite distinct from Western monarchies, which usually feature large, clearly defined royal families and orders of succession. The current Crown Prince is the first grandson of Ibn Saud to be in the line of succession.
Legal position
Saudi Arabia is ruled by Islamic law (Sharia) and purports to be an Islamic state, but many Muslims see a hereditary monarchy as being a discouraged system of government in Islam.
Other functions
The King of Saudi Arabia is also considered the Head of the House of Saud and Prime Minister. The Crown Prince is also the "Deputy Prime Minister". The kings after Faisal have named a "second Deputy Prime Minister" as the subsequent heir after the Crown Prince.
Current heirs-presumptive
Royal Standard
The Royal Standard consists of a green flag, with an Arabic inscription and a sword featured in white, and with the national emblem embroidered in gold in the lower right canton.
The script on the flag is written in the Thuluth script. It is the shahada or Islamic declaration of faith:
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهlā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāh, muhammadun rasūlu-llāhThere is no other god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God.