The Guardian Profile: King Abdullah

Meetings with monarchs may be an everyday occurrence for Prince Charles, but on his visit to Saudi Arabia he must be careful not to let slip the customary words "your majesty". King Abdullah doesn’t like it.

He may be the majestic ruler of one of the richest countries, commanding 25% of the world’s known oil reserves, but Abdullah regards his kingly title as secondary to his religious one.

Since he came to the throne last August, courtiers and visiting dignitaries have had to accustom themselves to a longer form of address: "O guardian of the Two Holy Shrines". It is as if Elizabeth II were constantly referred to as "defender of the faith" - an idea that Charles himself might well approve of.

King Abdullah takes religion seriously - more so than many of the Saudi royals - and his responsibilities for Mecca and Medina, the twin cradles of Islam, stretch far beyond the borders of his kingdom, giving him a claim to temporal leadership of a billion Muslims around the world.

It is no surprise that he chose an Islamic summit, last December, to launch his first big foreign policy initiative - a plan to revitalize the Organization of the Islamic Conference and turn it into a vehicle for combating extremism and poverty throughout the Muslim world.

King Abdullah inherited the throne last August at a fortuitous time, with al-Qaida militants apparently at bay and oil prices high. This has provided for a 20% leap in government spending and a 15% pay rise for all public servants, their first in 10 years. The latest budget also allocated £3.8bn for new education projects which should help to divert more students from religious studies into subjects that prepare them better for employment.

At the same time, King Abdullah has been trimming princes’ allowances and asking questions about others on the royal payroll. The days when king and court would decamp to Marbella for the summer have probably gone, too.

King Abdullah cultivates an image of ordinariness. "He is the closest route between two points - a straight line," said his son-in-law, Prince Faisal bin Abdullah. "The way he perceives things is very straightforward."

His body language is equally straightforward, according to those who know him well. When he’s happy and relaxed, he tucks the side-flaps of his gutra - headdress - up and out of the way.

During his first one-to-one meeting with President Bush, a small crowd waited apprehensively outside, but the moment King Abdullah emerged they knew all was well. "It went OK," one of them whispered. "You can see his ears."

Though straightforward is the word most often used to describe him, it is not always meant as a compliment. One way of explaining his apparent rapport with Bush is that both men favor simple solutions to complex problems. He reads little and responds emotionally, rather than intellectually, to events.

"He’s a thoroughly nice bloke," said a Riyadh-based diplomat who asked not to be named. "He talks in big generalizations. King Fahd [his predecessor] was more savvy and cosmopolitan but King Abdullah is not stupid. He makes few gaffes, but then doesn’t say much off script either." In audiences with Saudi dignitaries he repeats the same phrases endlessly, praising the greatness of their tribe - whichever it happens to be - and thanking them for their loyalty. The sheikhs lap it up and think well of him.

His son-in-law Prince Faisal, who combines his work as an intelligence chief with amateur photography, took many pictures of King Abdullah’s daily life as crown prince, and published a collection of them in a book.

They portray a rather homely man swigging from a can of Diet 7-Up, teasing his youngest children, wearing a colorful Hawaiian shirt, scrabbling for truffles in the desert with a long-handled trowel and playing the French game of boules (which he is always allowed to win).

"Look at this," said Prince Faisal, pointing to a shot of King Abdullah strolling with his entourage. "I ran in front of him to take the picture. I said ‘I want to get the right pose’ - and he put his tongue out." When asked for approval to include it in the book, King Abdullah shrugged. He rejected only one picture, where the hang of his thobe (traditional robe) made him look too fat, Prince Faisal said.

Most observers agree that the king has reforming instincts but, at 81, there are doubts about how far he will push them. Because of King Fahd’s long illness, King Abdullah had been de facto ruler for a decade when he inherited the throne. Nawaf Obaid, a Saudi security adviser, argues that Fahd’s death has freed his hand to speed up the process of change. "Before, there was always this thing that he had to be careful - ‘I’m crown prince, but Fahd is king’. Now, it’s basically his reign," he said.

Others are more sceptical. Although he has opened up debate about the kingdom’s problems, there is little sign that King Abdullah intends to challenge the religious principles that lie at the core of an archaic system.

The CV

Born: Riyadh, 1923 or 1924. One of 42 sons of King Abdul Aziz bin Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia

Education :Schooled in Saudi royal court, receiving traditional Islamic education emphasizing religion and history

Family: Has reputedly had more than 30 wives, not all at the same time. He has at least 15 sons and 20 daughters

Career: Commander of Saudi Arabia’s national guard; second deputy prime minister, 1975; crown prince, 1982. Acting ruler after King Fahd suffered stroke in 1995. Proclaimed king, August 1, 2005

Interests: Religion, television, winning at boules