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Prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani (HBJ) was in Paris on 7 June to meet the new French President François Hollande.

With many of the Saudi ruling generation ailing, as well as aged, attention is again turning to potential candidates for top jobs among Ibn Saud’s grandsons. GSN has long monitored developments within the Al Saud pecking order, but working out who will be allocated the most senior roles in the next decade remains an inexact science. However, it is possible to identify some of the ‘younger’ royals for whom greater prominence beckons

The ‘Red Prince’ Talal Bin Abdelaziz lived in exile for a short period after leading the Free Princes movement during the 1962 ruling family power struggle. He left Saudi Arabia for Cairo in 1962, where he renounced his title and established a ‘national liberation front’.

One of the late crown prince Sultan’s eldest sons, Prince Khalid Bin Sultan (KBS), was for many years one of Saudi Arabia’s most high-profile princes due to his position as assistant defence minister. He was promoted to deputy defence minister in November 2011 but, in the Saudi way, this formal promotion seems to have been accompanied by an informal weakening of his position: a majority of Saudi-watchers and local sources believe KBS’ star has been fading for a while.

Several of the Ibn Saud sons have produced heirs who might rise to prominence as the next generation takes over. Prince Bandar Bin Abdelaziz served for some time in the Ministry of Interior but is not often seen in public. However, several of his sons have public profiles, including Prince Faisal Bin Bandar, born in 1943, who is governor of Qassim.

The Bin Abdullah: schooled in the National Guard

Among the third-generation princes to watch, deputy prime minister and Crown Prince Nayef Bin Abdelaziz’s eldest son, Prince Saud Bin Nayef, is an assistant to his father, having spent many years as ambassador to Spain (appointed 2003), following a ten-year stint as deputy governor of Eastern Province under Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd (GSN 736/5). In July 2011, he was called home (GSN 904/3).

Bin Fahd remake family fortunes

He was “the most glamorous man I knew”, not to mention among the most intelligent, the late John Christie said of King Faisal (1906-75) – who gave GSN’s founding editor a weekly audience when he was a British diplomat posted to the Kingdom is the early 1970s. In the decades since, the well-educated sons of King Faisal have tended to distinguish themselves in politics and business, gaining a large international audience and generating intense speculation about their prospects in the process.

Abdelaziz Bin Abdullah: Los Angeles real estate; Mishal Bin Abdullah: Marriage; Reema Bint Bandar: To Everest

KING ABDULLAH: Universities project; PRINCES: General activities; JUNIOR BRANCHES: Marriages

CROWN PRINCE SALMAN: Korea visit; PM JABER: Visit from Tony Blair; SULTAN QABOOS: Holiday; EMIR SHEIKH HAMAD: Meetings

Eastern Province governor Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd laid foundation stones in Abqaiq in early April. He was joined by his deputy, Prince Jiluwi Bin Abdelaziz Bin Musaid. In Riyadh, governor Prince Sattam Bin Abdelaziz opened the environmental rehabilitation project ofWadi Nammar andWadi Laban. Asir region governor Prince Faisal Bin Khalid Bin Abdelaziz attended a graduation ceremony on 10 April at King Khalid University, where female students recently protested against conditions. Prince Faisal met student representatives and formed a youth council to address their concerns.

AHMED AL FAHD: Olympic position; SHEIKH SULTAN AL QASIMI: Book Launch

ABDELAZIZ and KHALID: Pakistan; SALMAN: US visit; GOVERNORS: Activities; Nayef returns to Saudi Arabia; BASMA BINT SAUD: BBC comments; NAYEF BIN AHMED: Paper