Saudi Arabia: Meet the next king

Saudi Arabia’s king has long been a consensus figure. And the succession of Salman ibn Abdulaziz as monarch of the desert kingdom is unlikely to cause major upsets in the conservative nation, either at home or abroad, according to many of those who study the secretive royal family.

The death of King Abdullah on Thursday brought to power his brother, a former governor of Riyadh who had been crown prince and defense minister since 2012. As ruler, he is unlikely to bring immediate and tumultuous change to a kingdom whose rulers have always emphasized gradual evolution.