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An interesting snippet on Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK) appeared in South Africa’s Mail & Guardian on 15 March, in an article on how foreign interests are hoping to get commercial deals in Zimbabwe in return for helping the cash-strapped government fund elections (an estimated $132m is needed). RAK ruler Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al-Qasimi visited Zimbabwe in late February, and was pictured with First Lady Grace Mugabe.

A British court has ruled that two Saudi royals involved in litigation in London over a business dispute do not have immunity from being sued. Allegiance Commission head Prince Mishaal Bin Abdelaziz and his son Prince Abdelaziz were seeking immunity as members of the Al-Saud. Their lawyers argued that they travelled on diplomatic passports and undertook duties for King Abdullah, and so should be entitled to sovereign immunity.

Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, touched down in Saudi Arabia on 15 March, the fifth day of a nine-day regional tour. They were met by Riyadh governor Prince Khalid Bin Bandar. After a garden party for British expatriates, Prince Charles had dinner with Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdelaziz, while Camilla was hosted by “Saudi princesses and influential women”.

New Riyadh governor Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Abdelaziz has had a busy few weeks since his appointment as Riyadh governor. Most recently, he met Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during their visit to Saudi Arabia. Earlier in March, he led a meeting of the Riyadh Development Authority and approved multi-billion riyal plans to overhaul the capital, including giving downtown Riyadh a facelift, and develop new transport links.

Allegiance Commission chairman Prince Mishaal Bin Abdelaziz left Riyadh for a trip abroad in February. He was seen off at the airport by his son Sultan. Prince Mishaal often travels abroad for medical treatment, and returned from an extended trip only in mid-October.

On 25 March, Forbes magazine will publish a scathing 3,700-word article on Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, who has made very public his indignation with Forbes’ latest list of billionaires. Prince Alwaleed was ranked 26th in the list, published on 4 March, with a fortune estimated at $20bn. Though this makes him the richest man in the Arab world, it was not, Forbes says, close enough to the prince’s own valuation, “specifically $29.6bn, which would return him to the top ten position he has craved”.

Newly appointed Medina governor (GSN 939/4) Prince Faisal Bin Salman Bin Abdelaziz has launched a land distribution scheme – according to local media, 3,800 citizens will benefit from its first phase. Land has sometimes proved to be a contentious issue in Saudi Arabia, where key plots owned by high-ranking citizens have lain undeveloped for decades

Saudi Arabia National Guard commander Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah gave a late February interview to Okaz/Saudi Gazette in which he described his father’s daily routine, which includes waking for the Fajr prayer, reading the Quran, sleeping again and then performing the Dhuhr prayer.

In the last week of February, Qatari heir apparent Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani was in Riyadh for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdelaziz Al-Saud. He also met second deputy premier Prince Miqrin Bin Abdelaziz at Janadriya farm, the private estate of King Abdullah, and attended a luncheon banquet hosted by Saudi Arabia National Guard commander Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz.

Deputy foreign minister Prince Abdelaziz Bin Abdullah’s Tower Lane Properties LLC has filed another case against the City of Los Angeles in the Los Angeles Superior Court

The estate of the bankrupt Icelandic bank Kaupthing has settled a dispute with the emir’s brother, former deputy prime minister Mohammed. The dispute stemmed from a deal the sheikh made to buy shares in the bank just before its 2008 collapse through his Q Iceland Holding. The bank had issued legal proceedings against the sheikh in Iceland.

A Saudi prince jailed in the UK for murder is to return home to Saudi Arabia just two years into his sentence. Prince Saud Bin Abdelaziz Bin Nasir was convicted at the Old Bailey in October 2010 for the murder of his servant in a London hotel, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison after the judge declared he had used his victim as a “human punch bag”.

Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani spent mid-February in South America. He and foreign minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani visited three countries, meeting Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Ecuadorian leader Rafael Correa, and signing agreements.

Reaction to the 14 February appointment of Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Abdelaziz to the Riyadh governorship, following the death of Prince Sattam Bin Abdelaziz, has mostly been ‘Who?’ But GSN sources have largely made positive noises about a manoeuvre which included choosing Prince Turki Bin Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz, like Khalid a member of the so-called third generation, as deputy.

British newspapers have been reporting on the failed attempt of Allegiance Commission chairman Mishaal Bin Abdelaziz and his son Abdelaziz to keep a London court case secret. The Guardian and the Financial Times (FT) had raised concerns about Prince Abdelaziz’s privacy bid and, on 13 February, Mr Justice Morgan ruled that allegations about Abdelaziz Bin Mishaal during litigation in the wake of a business dispute should be aired in open court hearings.