The funeral of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud is to be held on Tuesday before the afternoon prayer and his body will then be taken away for burial

The funeral of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, the heir to the Saudi throne who died in New York on Saturday, is to be held on Tuesday before the afternoon prayer and his body will then be taken away for burial.

The body arrived Monday in the Saudi capital, greeted by crowds of people, authorities and troops. King Abdullah, on a wheelchair and wearing a surgical mask, was at the base to receive the body, television footage showed.

Sultan, in his late 80s, has spent three months abroad this year recovering from a back problem that again required surgery last week in the US.

World dignitaries began arriving in Saudi Arabia early this morning to offer condolences.

Lebanon Prime Minister Najib Mikati will fly to Riyadh to attend Sultan’s funeral. President Michel Sleiman may also travel to Riyadh Wednesday to offer condolences to Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz and other officials.

Iran's foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi, will leave Tehran for Riyadh, leading a high-ranking delegation, to attend the funeral.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and US Vice-President Joe Biden, were among the world leaders heading to the Saudi capital to offer condolences.

King Abdullah appears set to appoint veteran Interior Minister Prince Nayef as crown prince and heir. This would set the stage for an eventual generational shift in the aging leadership of the world's top oil exporter. 

During the long illness of Sultan and absences of the king, Nayef stood in for his elder brothers, meeting world leaders and managing the kingdom's day-to-day affairs.