File Photo: Saudi Arabia's Defence Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (AFP Photo / HO / SPA)
Saudi Arabia's King Salman today named his son, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as second in line to the throne under a high-level shakeup.
A royal decree said Prince Mohammed, in his early 30s, will "be deputy crown prince".
He retains his position as minister of defence and head of the economic and development council, a coordinating body.
But the official SPA news agency reported that Prince Mohammed will no longer hold the crucial position of head of the royal court, a type of gatekeeper to the king.
That will go to Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Sualim, the agency said, citing a royal decree.
As chief of the royal court, Prince Mohammed held "a position of immense power in an absolute monarchy," wrote Bruce Riedel, a former Central Intelligence Agency officer who directs the Brookings Intelligence Project in Washington.
"He is the strong man in Saudi Arabia," a Western diplomatic source said before Wednesday's changes. "Look what this man is controlling."
As defence minister, since late March Prince Mohammed has supervised a Saudi-led coalition's air strikes against Iran-backed rebels in neighbouring Yemen.
He oversees the kingdom's security in conjunction with Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Prince Miteb bin Abdullah - minister of the National Guard, a parallel army.
In Wednesday's shakeup King Salman named bin Nayef as crown prince and heir to the throne. He will continue as interior minister.