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Coll 6/16 'Future of: Royal Family. Probable happenings on the death of Ibn Saud.' [‎193r] (386/440)

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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Shaikh Ahmad opined that this was because he never took
any exercise these days at all and eat far too much. On one
occasion he Bin Saud took the Shaikh to his old capital of
Dharaiyeh and both got out to walk. After a hundred yards
or so the King began to pant and blow, and said he could not
go on. This gave the Shaikh the opportunity of giving him a
lecture, and he urged on him the vital necessity of taking at
least £ hour’s walk each day, and begged him to stop taking
drugs such as "cascara" etc.which apparently the King now
cannot do without.
(c) The King, said the Shaikh, eat far too much to be good
for him, and at one sitting could put away a whole lamb
himself.
(d) The Amir Saud was a fine upstanding young man as tall as
his father and with lots of character, but at the "break up"
which would assuredly follow the King’s death, the Shaikh much
doubted if Saud would be able to "make good". There were the
ambitious Mohoraed and Abdullah and a host of others, who all
even now hated and were jealous of one another, to be
reckoned with. All would be at each other’s throats when the
strong hand left them.
The Shaikh was particularly taken with Saud’s charms of
manner and was overwhelmed altogether when the latter called
and after paying his respects, said "I want you to treat me
firstly as your best friend,and sedondlv as your sop* and
thirdly as your servant, not only during your visit here,but
throughout the rest of our respective lives". Perhaps the
Amir Saud saw the day not far distant when he would want an
ally on the coast.
(e) The Amir Ibn Musaad had aged very greatly. He was only
40 years old, but the Shaikh who knew him in less peaceful
times when they both used to go on raids together, said he was
shocked to see what a great change had come over him. He was
obviously being killed by worry and the cares of his hi$i
Office.
(f)

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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.' [‎193r] (386/440), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2082, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100038375480.0x0000bb> [accessed 5 April 2025]

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