Saudi Arabia's ruler, King Fahd, died early Monday in a Riyadh hospital and his brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, has been announced the country's new monarch, the Saudi royal court announced in a statement.

"With all sorrow and sadness, the royal court in the name of his highness Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and all members of the family announces the death of the custodian of the two holy mosques, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz," according to a statement read out on state-run Saudi TV by the country's information minister.

Saudi TV, which said the king was 84 years of age, broke with regular broadcasting to announce Fahd's death. Quranic verse recitals followed the announcement by the minister, Iyad bin Amin Madani, whose voice wavered with emotion as he read the statement.

"He died after suffering an illness," Madani said in the statement. "God allows the custodian of the two holy mosques, King Fahd, with great mercy and forgiveness to reside in his wide heaven."

Fahd died early Monday at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where he was admitted on May 27 for unspecified medical tests, an official at the hospital told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as news of the monarch's death had not been officially announced at the time.

His funeral will be held Tuesday and he will be buried in the Al-Oud cemetery in central Riyadh, a Saudi official said on condition of anonymity as the details had not been officially announced.

His 81-year-old half brother, Abdullah, has been Saudi Arabia's de facto leader since then and has led the country's battle against Islamic extremism and terrorism.

The Saudi statement said the new King Abdullah in one of his first official duties announced that his half-brother and Saudi defense minister, Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, 77, would be Saudi's next crown prince. An official ceremony was expected to be held Wednesday to confirm Abdullah's appointment to king.

The Saudi Stock market closed down 10 minutes after the announcement of Fahd's death. The Arab League announced that it would be postponing a summit scheduled to be held Wednesday in Egypt's resort of Sharm el-Sheik in the wake of the Saudi ruler's death.

At the time of Fahd's widely publicized hospitalization that caused concern home and abroad, officials said he was suffering from pneumonia and a high fever.

In recent weeks, Saudi officials have been saying Fahd's health had been improving and was even preparing to leave hospital.

The late king had suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995 that confined him mainly to a figurehead role in the kingdom. His half brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, has been Saudi Arabia's de facto leader since then and has led the country's battle against Islamic extremism and terrorism.

The king brought the kingdom, holder of the world's largest oil reserves and home to Islam's holiest shrines of Mecca and Medina, closer to the United States during more than two decades as monarch.

Fahd, the son of the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, King Abdul-Aziz, got an elementary school education with a heavy emphasis on religion at a school set up by Abdul-Aziz for his 42 sons.

He loved the good life and traveled often, enjoying years of high living. But when he was in his late 20s, he was summoned and told that to maintain his place in the succession he had to shape up.

In 1953, he became the nation's first education minister, laying the foundation for a nationwide school system that grew from 30,000 students to over 3.2 million students today enrolled in seven universities, 83 colleges and over 18,000 schools throughout the country.

In 1962, he became interior minister and then crown prince in 1975 when King Faisal was slain by a deranged nephew. Fahd was de factor ruler during the seven-year reign of his brother Khaled, a devout and apolitical man, and took the throne formally at Khaled's death in 1982.

The monarch always appeared in the traditional flowing white robe and "mishlah" - the camel-colored cape adorned with spun gold. He was a night-owl who slept during the day and often opened weekly ministerial meetings near midnight. His short working hours and centralized style - he insisted on approving even minor details - left a constant bottleneck of paperwork.

Details about Fahd's private life are little known, but he is believed to have had three wives and eight sons. His eldest son, Faisal, died in 1999 of a heart attack.