The body of
King Abdullah was carried into a mosque in Riyadh this afternoon as his funeral began, less than 24 hours after Saudi Arabia was plunged into mourning by his death. The monarch was shrouded in a simple, white cloth as he was carried into the
Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Grand Mosque in Riyadh on a stretcher.
The royal died last night aged 90 after a battle with pneumonia. His funeral is taking place in Riyadh, where, in keeping with Muslim traditions, Abdullah's body, clothed in white and shrouded in a simple cloth, will be carried on an ambulance stretcher by relatives to rest in a mosque before being taken to a cemetery and buried in an unmarked grave.
Prayers will be led by
King Salman, who has succeeded his half-brother as King of Saudi Arabia. The funeral is being attended by Muslim heads of state and other senior figures, however
President Abdel Fatteh al-Sisi of Egypt, one of Abdullah's closest allies, was unable to attend thanks to poor weather stopping his flight from the Davos World Economic Forum.
Non-Muslim dignitaries will visit to pay respects to the new monarch and crown prince, and other members of the Al Saud dynasty, in the coming days.
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