For most of my life, the imminent downfall of the House of Saud has been predicted. And eventually one of those predictions will come true. In the meantime, it’s worth considering how the Saudis deal with the kind of transitions between one generation and the next in the royal line that have proved treacherous for other monarchies.

Mostly, they don’t. In the last 60 years they haven’t passed the crown down, only sideways. King Salman, who just succeeded to the throne today, is the sixth son of Ibn Saud to become king since the founder of Saudi Arabia died in 1953. King Salman, age 79, immediately named as Crown Prince Muqrin, age 69 and and youngest surviving son of Ibn Saud.