King without a Kingdom: Deposed King Saud and His Intrigues

Over the years, the matter of succession has been of the most important challenges to the Saudi monarchy. Although the founder of the kingdom, ʿAbd al-ʿAziz Ibn Saud, had determined that the throne would be handed down to his firstborn son, his sons had to deviate from their father’s wishes not long after his death and depose the new heir, King Saud. This undermining of the order of succession at such an early stage demanded that Faisal, who took King Saud’s place, restore confidence in the principle of primogeniture and unite the royal family by establishing a system of checks and balances between the various authorities. Despite King Faisal’s efforts to stabilise the government from within, deposed King Saud had no intention of abandoning his former position, and he began a campaign to return to power by means of Saudi domestic operatives and inter-Arab forces.