RIYADH: Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 79, is now officially 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.

King Abdullah ascended the throne on Aug. 1, 2005 but 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.

At stake with the appointment of Salman as king is the future direction of the United States' most important Arab ally and self-appointed champion of Sunni Islam at a moment of unprecedented turmoil across the Middle East.

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.

King Salman has been crown prince and defence 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, arabnews 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.

BDST: 0555 HRS, JAN 23, 2015/ updated 0839 hrs