As Khashoggi crisis grows, Saudi king asserts authority, checks son's power | France24 |

Last Thursday, Oct. 11, the king dispatched his most trusted aide, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, governor of Mecca, to Istanbul to try to defuse the crisis.

World leaders were demanding an explanation and concern was growing in parts of the royal court that the king's son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to whom he has delegated vast powers, was struggling to contain the fallout, the sources said.

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Initially the king, who has handed the day-to-day running of Saudi Arabia to his son, commonly known as MbS, was unaware of the extent of the crisis, according to two of the sources with knowledge of the Saudi royal court. That was partly because MbS aides had been directing the king to glowing news about the country on Saudi TV channels, the sources said.

That changed as the crisis grew.

"Even if MbS wanted to keep this away from the king he couldn't because the story about Khashoggi's disappearance was on all the Arab and Saudi TV channels watched by the king," one of the five sources said.

"The king started asking aides and MbS about it. MbS had to tell him and asked him to intervene when Khashoggi's case became a global crisis," this source said.

Role of Mecca Governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal ...

○ Erdogan meets King Salman in push for Qatar mediation | The National UAE - July 23, 2018 |

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with King Salman in Saudi Arabia as part of a push for mediation efforts to resolve the crisis with Qatar. Mr Erdogan was greeted at his aeroplane by the governor of Mecca province, Prince Khalid Al Faisal.

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani met today with  @CENTCOM commander Gen. Votel .
-#Qatar #USA pic.twitter.com/w6N6yl9xEN

— وزارة الدفاع - دولة قطر (@MOD_Qatar) July 23, 2017