RIYADH: Dignitaries and leaders from around the world were to arrive in Saudi Arabia Saturday to offer their condolences to its new King Salman, a day after the death of his half-brother King Abdullah.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, Prince Charles and French President Francois Hollande were among the first leaders expected while US Vice-President Joe Biden was due to visit in the coming days.

Abdullah, a cautious reformer who led the US-allied Gulf state through a turbulent decade in a region shaken by the Arab Spring uprisings and Islamic extremism, died early Friday aged about 90.

Since he took the throne in 2005, Riyadh has been a key Arab ally of Washington, last year joining the coalition carrying out air strikes against the Islamic State jihadist group.

World leaders praised the king as a key mediator between Muslims and the West, but campaigners criticised his rights record and urged Salman to do more to protect freedom of speech and women's rights.

Gulf rulers and leaders including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif were among those who attended Abdullah's simple funeral at Riyadh's Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque on Friday.

The late king's body, wrapped in a cream-coloured shroud, was borne on a simple litter by members of the royal family wearing traditional red-and-white checked headgear.

The body was quickly moved to nearby Al-Od public cemetery and buried in an unmarked grave, in keeping with tradition.