King Salman of Saudi Arabia’s older half-brother, Prince Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud died yesterday evening in Jeddah at the age of 96, the Saudi Press Agency confirmed late Sunday quoting the Saudi Royal Court.
Prayers will be held today after the Isha prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
The Prince was not an active political member of the Royal Family, and as such, was a bit less known outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. However, he did hold the position as Director-General of the Interior Ministry for a time.
While Prince Bandar was not very politically active, his sons hold high positions. His son, Prince Faisal bin Bandar is the governor of Riyadh and Prince Abdullah bin Bandar leads the National Guard. Additionally, Prince Khalid bin Bandar is one of King Salman’s advisers. A fourth son, Prince Mansour is a Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) officer.
Prince Bandar, who was the eldest surviving member of the House of Saud, was the tenth son of the founder and the first monarch of Saudi Arabia, King Ibn Saud. He was not in the line of succession to the throne.
His Royal Highness was born in 1923 in Riyadh in what was then the Sultanate of Nejd; Saudi Arabia didn’t come to be until 1932. He was one of King Ibn Saud’s 45 sons.
King Salman, 83, is now the eldest member of the House of Saud. Salman took the throne in January 2015 upon the death of his older brother, King Abdullah, who died at the age of 90.
