article of this Constitution. However, King Idris did not have any sons. As a result, King Idris appointed his brother and Mohammed El Senussi's grandfather, Muhammad Rida Al-Mehdi al-Senoussi as Crown Prince. After the Crown Prince's death in 1955, King Idris appointed his nephew and Mohammed El Senussi's father, Hasan as-Senussi, as Crown Prince on November 25, 1956, through a Royal Decree. Section 2 of the Royal Decree states: If the King were to die without a male Heir his wife not being pregnant, or if she were pregnant but the pregnancy was not to result in an Heir to the Throne, then the Crown would be retained by His Royal Highness Prince Al-Hassan Al-Rida who would become the origin of future successions to continue through His line according to the rulings of our Order to reorganise the Royal Household issues on 20 October 1954. On August 4, 1969, King Idris announced his planned abdication in favor of the Crown Prince (to take effect September 2, 1969) writing that "Now I hand it over to the forty-three-year-old Crown Prince el-Sayyid el-Hasan el-Rida el-Mehdi el-Senoussi, who is to be regarded from today as King el-Hasan el-Rida el-Mehdi el-Senoussi." The 1969 coup d'état was carried out shortly after on September 1. After seeking medical treatment in London in 1988, Mohammed El Senussi's father, Crown Prince Hasan as-Senussi, died in 1992. With the death of his father, and in accordance with the 1951 Libyan Constitution, Mohammed El Senussi became the rightful heir to the Senussi throne in 1992, a position he has held ever since. A rival claim is also advanced by his distant relative Idris bin Abdullah.[1] According to Debrett's Peerage, an institution that tracks royal lineage, Idris bin Abdullah is "the second son of the sixth son of the second son of the younger brother of King Idris's father." The Libyan Constitutional Union, founded in 1981 in opposition to the Gaddafi regime, refers to Prince Mohammed El Senussi as the legitimate heir to the Senussi Crown. Positions on the Libyan Civil War During the Libyan Civil War, Mohammed El Senussi emerged as a prominent public figure in support of the public demonstrations against the Gaddafi regime. El Senussi spoke publicly in support of the protesters while advocating for the return of peace in Libya. Senussi sent his condolences "for the heroes who have laid down their lives, killed by the brutal