RIYADH: The king of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud passed away early on Friday. He was 90.

Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 79, becames the new Saudi king and Prince Muqrin Bin Abdulaziz is the new crown prince.

"His Highness Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and all members of the family and the nation mourn the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who passed away at exactly 1 a.m. this morning," State TV said.

Several weeks before the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported that Abdullah had been suffering from pneumonia and had been admitted to the hospital.

Services will be held Friday afternoon at the Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Grand Mosque in Riyadh, and many world leaders are likely to pay their respects.

King Abdullah ascended the throne of the oil-rich nation, a key US ally in the Middle East, in August 2005.

But he had run the country as de facto regent for a decade before that after his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke, Al-Jazeera reported.

Abdullah played a guiding role in Saudi Arabia's support for Egypt's government after the military intervened in 2012, and drove his country's support for Syria's rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad.

                                                   Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

King Salman has been crown prince and defense minister since 2012. He was governor of Riyadh province for five decades before that.

Salman had been representing the king at most recent public events because of the monarch's poor health, Arab News reported. 

King Salman, 79, was named crown prince in June 2012 following the death of Prince Naif.

In March 2014, King Abdullah named Prince Muqrin as a second crown prince.

Meanwhile, Jordan's King Abdullah cut short his visit to Davos, and is heading to Riyadh, according to a Jordanian government source.

"King Abdullah's life spanned from before the birth of modern Saudi Arabia through its emergence as a critical force within the global economy and a leader among Arab and Islamic nations," U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement, CNN reported. 

"As our countries worked together to confront many challenges, I always valued King Abdullah's perspective and appreciated our genuine and warm friendship. As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions."

BDST: 0555 HRS, JAN 23, 2015/ UPDATE 0935 HRS