"I cannot imagine there will be any particular change in that (foreign) policy undertaken by the late King Fahd," the Saudi ambassador to London, Prince Turki al-Faisal, said. Asked whether the same applied to oil policy, he said: "Absolutely."

Abdullah has run Saudi Arabia's day-to-day affairs since Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995 and has been the central decision-maker on issues ranging from oil and the Middle East to the country's two-year battle against al-Qaeda militants.

He has been a driving force behind economic reform in the world's biggest oil exporter and initiated modest political change when Saudis voted in men-only elections this year for local councils. Four months later these have yet to be set up.

Abdullah was named king on Monday as soon as Fahd's death was announced.

"There will be no real change in relations with the United States and no change over oil policy or in the security crackdown," predicted Mai Yamani, a Saudi analyst at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London.

Even leading an absolute monarchy, Abdullah will still have to take into account views of other senior royals, including his half-brother Prince Sultan, the new crown prince, Yamani added.