The Prince of Wales has flown to Kuwait to pay his condolences to the nation’s new leader following the death of Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, its former ruling emir.
William is making a brief trip to the Middle East country to express his sympathy, on behalf of the King, to Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber – who was named emir on Saturday after it was announced that day his half-brother Sheikh Nawaf had died.
The prince is expected to return later after meeting the emir – who has visited the UK three times this year, to attend the coronation, hold discussion with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and meet the King.
The British monarchy has long-standing ties with the Kuwaiti royal family – as it does with many of the Gulf State ruling royals, with William visiting Kuwait in 2019.
Kuwait state television broke into programming with Koranic verses just before a sombre official made the announcement on Saturday. Authorities gave no cause of death.
In late November, Sheikh Nawaf was rushed to a hospital for an unspecified illness. In the time since, Kuwait had been waiting for news about his health.
Sheikh Meshal, Kuwait’s former deputy ruler now 83, had been the world’s oldest crown prince.
The state-run Kuna news agency said Sheikh Meshal, a long-time leader in the country’s security services, had been named emir on Saturday afternoon.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here