The death of the crown prince, a half-brother to King Abdullah and the man who was next in line to the throne, means that his brother Prince Nayef becomes the heir to King Abdullah as leader of the key oil producer.
Crown Prince Sultan's funeral will take place on Tuesday after his body has been repatriated from the United States.
The Al-Saud family has ruled Saudi Arabia ever since the kingdom's establishment in 1932 and under its rules of succession the throne passes in turn to the sons of its founder Abdul Aziz.
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