London: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz will retain the title of "Custodian of the two Holy Mosques" even as he is set to relinquish power to his son and Crown Prince Mohammed.
"'King Salman will play the role of the queen of England. He will only keep the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques", Mail Online reported Friday quoting an unnamed source.
"King Salman will continue only as a ceremonial figurehead, handing over official leadership of the country to his son, Mohammed bin Salman, - often referred to as MBS", the sources said to Mail Online.
The report also claimed that 81-year-old King Salman will in the next week relinquish power to Mohammed bin Salman.
"Unless something dramatic happens, King Salman will announce the appointment of MBS as King of Saudi Arabia next week," said the source.
Speculations of King Salman’s possible abdication surfaced in late June, when the monarch deposed his nephew, then deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef as the heir to the throne and offered the position to Mohammed bin Salman.
The speculations however looked a certainty after many princes, ministers and senior officials were arrested in the first week of November in a surprised crackdown on corruption.
Reports in the last week had claimed that King Salman will any moment announce Mohammed bin Salman's accession to throne.
It was also reported that Saudi-owned television news channel Al-Arabiya had in fact announced the news in a Twitter message, but it retracted the post hours later.
Political analysts say the regime in Riyadh is apparently seeking to test the waters and examine public reaction regarding a surprise shift in power.
The expected development marks a change in the order of succession in Saudi Arabia from lateral lines of elderly brothers to a vertical order under which the king hands power to his most eligible son.
In early September, the website of Lebanon’s al-Manar channel reported that the 32-year-old Mohammed bin Salman had formed a team of aides to prepare the kingdom for celebrating his succession to power as the new king.
The paper quoted sources close to the royal family as saying that King Salman was due to step down over his health issues. The sources then noted that Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the kingdom’s security officials to increase supervision of royal figures to prevent any coup.
Since replacing his cousin Mohammed bin Nayef in June, the 32-year-old Mohammed bin Salman has embarked on a campaign to consolidate power, taking on rivals within the royal family.
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