Brother of Saudi king dies at 83

Prince Turki bin Abdel Aziz, a brother of Saudi Arabia’s king, has died, a statement from the palace published on the official news agency SPA said early Saturday.

Prince Turki — who was born in 1934, according to his official biography — was a son of the kingdom’s founder, King Abdul Aziz bin Saud, and a member of a formidable bloc of brothers known as the Sudairi seven, after their mother Hassa bin Ahmed al-Sudairi.

The bloc also included king Fahd and princes Sultan and Nayef, all now dead, as well as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.

Prince Turki, who was deputy minister of defense from 1968 to 1978, was to be buried later on Saturday.

King Salman is to receive condolences for three days from Saturday evening, the palace said.