LONDON (Dispatches) -- Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MbS) is no longer expected to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on Monday, a British foreign office source said on Sunday, contrary to Britain’s earlier expectations that he would.
Saudi Arabia would be represented instead by Prince Turki bin Muhammad Al Saud, the source said. Prince Turki is a minister of state and has been a member of the cabinet since 2018. He is the grandson of late King Fahd and part of the new generation that has been brought to power by Prince Muhammad.
The change was made by Saudi Arabia, the source added.
Britain has invited heads of state from its allies to attend, but it is up to those nations who to send.
Saudi representation at the funeral has been closely watched for any signs of a further thaw in a diplomatic chill Western countries imposed on Prince Muhammad after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, that U.S. intelligence says was approved by the crown prince.
Reports of the crown prince’s plan to touch down in London on Sunday had been condemned by Hatice Cengiz and other human rights defenders as a “stain” on the monarch’s memory and an attempt by the Saudi crown prince to use mourning to “seek legitimacy and normalization”.
Protests have already been planned against visits by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain and leaders from the UAE. Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said: “The UK simply should not be welcoming dictators from states renowned for their atrocious human rights records.