A Traditionalist Who Watches 33 Tvs at Once

Among members of a royal family noted for their extravagant lifestyles, Saudi Arabia's new ruler stands out as one who hankers after the simple life of the desert.

He was brought up in the old way, educated by Islamic scholars in the royal court and sent off to live with the Bedouin and learn their rugged ways.

"I train my own children to walk barefoot, to rise two hours before dawn, to eat but little, to ride horses bareback," his father was once quoted as saying.

It was not until the discovery of abundant oil in Saudi Arabia that luxury and its trappings began to take over. Today Prince Abdullah rides a Rolls-Royce (registration 001) but has retained more of the old values than many of his contemporaries.

He has a popular image among Saudis as a straightforward, down-to-earth and pious man in contrast to his half-brother, Prince Sultan, who is often considered greedy.

His views on world affairs tend to come from television rather than from reports from his officials. A Time magazine reporter who visited Prince Abdullah's office found a bank of 33 television sets, all switched on "so he can monitor all the available satellite channels at once".

Prince Abdullah's Arab-Israeli peace plan three years ago was said to have been inspired by watching footage of the Palestinian intifada.

"I saw things that would make Allah angry, make humans and humanity angry," he said at the time.

The peace plan - which offered Israel normal Arab ties in exchange for full Israeli withdrawal from all land occupied in the 1967 war - led Osama bin Laden to condemn Prince Abdullah as a traitor to Arabs and Islam.

He has also irritated the US at times with his criticisms of Washington's support for Israel.

Despite his traditionalist attitudes, Prince Abdullah is not averse to reform, but favours a cautious approach.