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Coll 6/16 'Future of: Royal Family. Probable happenings on the death of Ibn Saud.' [‎104r] (208/440)

The record is made up of 1 file (218 folios). It was created in 30 Sep 1931-7 Oct 1949. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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4./
in the eastern liesert, iiuxl i>h& 9 l^n supported the morement
with presaure on Jauf end the northern diatrlota« Theae
moveaents were launched durlne the spring of 19BI f by whioh
tiffle the ^onferenoe convened at Cairo by Mr*^inaton Churchill,
who had now become reapohaible for the fate of the ISrlti oh
mandated territories as Secretary of State for the Colonics t
had definitely decided that Faisal, the third son of King
Husain, should proceed to t Xraq &a a candidate for Its throne
with all the becking of the British Government # In April
the only serious obstacle in the path of such a policy was
removed by Gir Percy Cox’s auamssy deportation of Saiyid
Talib al Maqib # who was at this time Ml ms ter of the
Interior in the provisional government set up by sir Percy
Cox in October 1980, after the rebellion# And in June Faisal
duly arrived at Basra in a British transport, while the so**
celled plebiscite to ascertain the views of the people of
Iraq shortly afterwards confirmsd MryChurchill 9 s view that
Faisal would be an ideal King for the mandated territory#
How Faisal was already flirting with the Bhamar,
who during these few months had been drifting down from the
troubled and profitless deserts of their own country to the
greater peace and plenty of the ituphrates’ marches, where they
were not only warmly received by the kiag~elect, but also
provided with arms, money and provisions for the maintenance
o 4 a guerilla campaign against the slowly advancing aray at the
Wahhabis# Faisal was doing what he could to help his father’s
cause and to perpetuate an effective balance of paver in
the desert, and, while he was not outwardly encouraged
in this policy by the British authorities, his actions did
not peso unnoticed by the representatives of Xbn rm’ud at
Baghdad, who at this time were engaged in discussing with
Sir Percy Cox the preliminaries of an agreement ffcr the
fixing o' the frontiers between the Wahhabi domain and the

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Content

This file relates to Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] and the future of Arabia in the event of his death.

The file largely consists of copies of Foreign Office correspondence, which have been forwarded by the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to the Under-Secretary of State for India. Also included are copies of correspondence addressed to the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. and the Government of India's Foreign and Political Department by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle, succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior).

The correspondence begins with the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. 's response to the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India's remark that British influence in the Middle East seems largely to depend on the life of one man: Ibn Saud.

Related matters discussed in the correspondence include the following:

  • The effect that Ibn Saud's death, or fall from power, might have on Kuwait.
  • The designation of Amir Saud [Sa‘ūd bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd] as Ibn Saud's heir apparent in 1933.
  • Rumours of tense relations between Amir Saud and his brother Feisal [Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud].
  • Arab public opinion on Ibn Saud, following the Saudi-Yemeni war.
  • Reports of Ibn Saud and Amir Saud having been attacked by would-be assassins in Mecca in 1935.
  • Amir Saud's visit to India for medical treatment in 1940.
  • Reports of the arrest of ninety persons suspected of being involved in a plot to assassinate Ibn Saud in 1940.

Other prominent correspondents include the following: the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait (Harold Richard Patrick Dickson, succeeded by Gerald Simpson de Gaury); the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrain (Hugh Weightman); the British Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan; Sir Reader William Bullard; Hugh Stonehewer Bird); His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Jedda (Albert Spencer Calvert); officials of the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, and the Government of India's External Affairs Department.

In addition to correspondence the file includes the following:

The file includes two dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (218 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 219; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An external leather cover wraps around the documents and the front inside of this cover has been foliated as folio 1. A previous foliation sequence, which is present between ff 2-218 and is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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Coll 6/16 'Future of: Royal Family. Probable happenings on the death of Ibn Saud.' [‎104r] (208/440), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2082, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038375480.0x000009> [accessed 4 June 2026]

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