Word: royalities
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...visitor recalled, when he would engage them in talk about "the stars, hunting and spring rains, topics that made his eyes brighten." He was a reluctant monarch who ascended the throne to preserve family unity, and he eagerly delegated authority to younger and more sophisticated members of the royal family. When he died last week at the age of 69, Khalid ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, King of Saudi Arabia since 1975, was revered as a wise ruler who provided a mantle of tradition and stability to his country through an era of unparalleled turmoil and change...
With equal speed and in strict accordance with royal protocol, the ruling hierarchy elevated Prince Abdullah, 59, a half brother of Fahd's, to Crown Prince. Abdullah, who is commander of the national guard, is considered an articulate advocate of Arab nationalism and Palestinian rights (see box). Prince Sultan, 58, a full brother of Fahd's, became second in line to the throne. He will retain his positions as Minister of Defense and Aviation and commander of the army...
...House of Saud, the ruling dynasty established by the great warrior Ibn Saud Saudi he conquered the vast desert territory that is now Saudi Arabia in 1932, is in effect a one-family government that operates by consensus. The kingdom has no constitution, so royal succession is decided by a council of elders within some ruling family. In 1975, when King Faisal was assassinated, the some times hot-headed Prince Mohammed was passed over by mutual agreement in favor of Khalid. But the ruling hierarchy has usually recognized as King the oldest survivor of the 45 legitimate sons born...
...indication of Abdullah's importance in the royal family is that since 1963 he has served as commander of the 40,000-man Saudi National Guard, the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah kingdom's key internal-security unit. The tribally based guard protects the country's main cities, oilfields and communications facilities, and was conceived as a deliberate counterweight to Saudi Arabia's being army. Its ultimate purpose is to prevent a military coup from being launched against the royal family...
Fuel. As part of a routine agreement, the U.S. sent 1.5 million gal. of aviation fuel to the joint U.S.-British airbase at Ascension Island. It also made KC-135 aerial tankers available to Britain, but these were never sent to the South Atlantic. Instead, the Royal Air Force used its own KC-135s for midair refueling of Vulcan bombers making the 3,800-mile trip from Ascension to the Falklands, while U.S. planes in Europe were reassigned to British NATO duties...