Mohammed bin Salman will travel to London to deliver Saudi Arabia’s condolences to the royal family following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Guardian said in a report. There was no confirmation whether he would be attending her funeral service at Westminster Abbey.
The UK has imposed several sanctions on people close to the prince due to their alleged involvement in the killing of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. This is the first time the Saudi crown prince also known as MBS will be visiting the UK following Khashoggi’s death in October 2018.
The UK sanctioned Ahmed al-Asiri, deputy head of the Saudi Intelligence services; Saud bin Abdullah al-Qahtani, adviser to the crown prince in the royal court; Salah Muhammed al-Tubaigy, forensic doctor with the Saudi interior ministry; Mustafa al-Madani, brigadier general and intelligence officer in Saudi Arabia; Naif Hassan al-Arifi, first lieutenant for external intelligence; and major general Mansour Othman Abahussain, all of who are closely related to the MBS.
There are concerns that his presence could lead to a distraction from the commemoration of the Queen as people may protest against his presence. There are also concerns that his presence may ‘represent an unacceptable security threat’. There are no details available regarding the crown prince’s itinerary for the weekend.
The UK royal family has had close ties with the Saudi royal family. The MBS met the Queen in London in 2018. King Charles III has visited Saudi Arabia several times. Saudi Arabia is King Charles III’s most visited nation among West Asian nations. Since 1967, he has visited Saudi Arabia 12 times.
King Charles III’s charity organization has had satellite operations in Riyadh and the monarch developed interest in learning Arabic due to his interest in Islam.
Saudi Arabia still continues to punish dissidents and rights activists who raise their voices against the kingdom and how it treats people who differ with it. The crown prince continues to deny prior knowledge of the attack on Khashoggi. In 2020, a Saudi court overturned five death sentences of perpetrators who were involved in Khashoggi’s murder. Eight of them were given jail sentences between seven and 20 years.
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