Saudi royal family buries Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud The position of Crown Prince is likely to pass to Nayef's next older brother, Prince Salman, who would become the third figure to hold the post in just eight months. His nomination as heir to King Abdullah, who is 89, may have to be confirmed by an allegiance council including senior members of the family, although it has yet to be activated. He is seen as a more reformist figure than his brother. Even so, it is not thought he would challenge the status quo too strongly, being more likely to adopt the cautious approach to reform of King Abdullah, which is seen by critics as both slow and piecemeal. Prince Salman, who governed Riyadh for 48 years, is a member of the so-called "Sudairi Seven," a powerful bloc consisting of the sons of Ibn Saud by his favourite wife Princess Hassa al-Sudairi. As such, he would have built up a powerful patronage network, leaving him in a strong position to fend off any challenges within the vast and sometimes acrimonious ruling family.