Saudi Crown Prince MbS to visit UK for Queen death condolences, but funeral attendance not known

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will travel to London to offer his country's condolences to the UK after the death of long-serving monarch Queen Elizabeth II, The Guardian reported on Friday.

It is not confirmed, however, whether the de-facto Saudi ruler will attend the Queen's funeral service at Westminster Abbey on Monday, the London paper said, citing an unnamed source.

Officials are assessing whether the Saudi prince's presence at the funeral will cause protests or public outrage, the source added.

The visit will be Prince Mohammed's first visit to the UK since the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, which led to the imposition of sanctions by London in 2020.

While the UK did not explicitly accuse Prince Mohammed - also known as MbS - of ordering the murder, it imposed travel restrictions on his close aides over their alleged involvement in Khashoggi's grisly murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The six Saudis sanctioned by the UK include former deputy head of intelligence Ahmed al-Asiri, MbS aide Saud Al-Qahtani, forensic doctor Salah Muhammed Al-Tubaigy, Brigadier General  Mustafa al-Madani, First Lieutenant for External Intelligence Naif Hassan Al-Arifi, and Major General Mansour Othman Abahussain.

MbS' last visit to the UK was months before Khashoggi's murder in March 2018, during when he met British leaders, including the Queen. There was already anger in the UK about Saudi Arabia's role in the war in Yemen and a crackdown on activists.

After the Khashoggi murder, MbS became internationally isolated but has gradually inched back into the international fold.

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden and EU president Charles Michel have all held meetings with MbS in recent months in a bid to have energy giant Saudi Arabia increase oil production to ease the global energy price crisis.

Crown Prince Mohammed has long denied involvement in Khashoggi's murder.

Shortly after the killing, US intelligence services said Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in a gruesome murder ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed.

Justice for Khashoggi seems increasingly elusive, however, after Turkey dropped charges against 26 Saudis implicated in the murder in June. The halt to the trial came as Saudi Arabia and Turkey held discussions to improve relations after a diplomatic feud.