Saudi King Abdulla Dies at the Age of 90; Succeeded by Salman, 79

King Abdulla of Saudi Arabia died today at the age of 90. His photograph appears on all Saudi currency. Photo credit: Amira Al Hussaini

King Abdulla of Saudi Arabia died today at the age of 90. His photograph appears on all Saudi currency. Photo credit: Amira Al Hussaini

After weeks of speculation, Saudi Arabia today [January 23, 2015] announced the death of King Abdulla bin Abdulaziz, 90, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. Abdulla came to power in August 2005, after the death of his half-brother Fahad bin Abdulaziz, and is now succeeded by his other brother Salman bin Abdulaziz, who is 79. And their other brother Muqrin has been named Crown Prince. They are all the sons of King Abdulaziz, who founded Saudi Arabia in 1932, and have been ascending the throne in succession over the years. Abdulaziz had 45 sons of whom 36 survived to adulthood and had children of their own. Egyptian Amro Ali shares this infographic which shows the “ever shrinking old generations of Saudi kings in waiting.”

Online, citizens of the world were quick to share their two cents. Saudi blogger Ahmed Al Omran notes how the now King Salman's bio on Twitter has changed to reflect his new position:

There was also a confusion about the deceased King and his new successor's ages. From the UAE, Abdulkhaleq Abdulla tweeted:

And many were not kind to news of Abdulla's dead. This Twitter user shared this meme:

But there were also Saudis sad over their King's demise. This Twitter user writes:

Another user writes:

And the mourning continues:

From Egypt, The Rock was quick to jump on the mouners bandwagon, thanking the Saudi monarch for his services to Egypt:

Thousands of messages of condolence continue to pour in with prayer for mercy for his soul.

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