(MENAFN- Jordan Times) His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday expressed his condolences to Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz over the death of Crown Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz.
During a brief visit to Saudi Arabia to attend the funeral, the King, accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, paid tribute to Prince Nayef, recalling the great services he provided to safeguard Arab and Muslim interests, according to a Royal Court statement.
The King performed funeral prayers with several state leaders in Mecca.
Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh, Senate President Taher Masri, Lower House Speaker Abdul Karim Dughmi and other senior officials accompanied the Monarch and also paid tribute to the late prince, the statement said.
His Majesty continues a working visit to London today, where he will deliver lecture at the Royal College of Defence Studies and meet with British Foreign Secretary William Hague and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the House of Commons.
Saudi royal officials received the body of Crown Prince Nayef in Jeddah on Sunday after a flight from Geneva, the Associated Press reported. He was the second heir to the throne to die outside the country in less than a year.
The burial ceremony was held in the holy city of Mecca.
The leading figure as the next heir to the throne is 76-year-old Defence Minister Prince Salman, according to AP.
Later this week, a special council of royal family members is expected to convene to select the next crown prince.
Prince Nayef left the country in late May for what was described as a "personal vacation" that would include undisclosed medical tests. Earlier this year, he was treated at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, but no details have been officially disclosed.
His predecessor, Prince Sultan, 80, died in October in New York after an unspecified illness.
As interior minister since 1975, Prince Nayef was in charge of internal security forces.
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