Qatar’s Crown Prince Dethrones Vacationing Father

Qatar’s crown prince, for years the real power in this wealthy Persian Gulf emirate, seized power from his father unexpectedly Tuesday while the sheik was vacationing in Switzerland.

The dethroning was largely a formality, since Prince Hamad Bin Khalifa al-Thani, 45, already effectively runs the country. But Qatar sealed its 38-mile border with Saudi Arabia and placed two border brigades on alert, diplomats said.

The deposed emir, Sheik Khalifa Bin Hamad alThani, 65, who himself grabbed power from a cousin 23 years ago, called the coup unacceptable. He said he would return to his country “whatever the cost.”

“I am still their legitimate emir - whether it be for the royal family, the people or for the army,” he said from Geneva’s Hotel du Rhone.

State-run media proclaimed the move a peaceful takeover and referred to the son, a longtime defense minister, as “the new emir.”

Later Tuesday, Prince Hamad told an emergency Cabinet session that the ouster was necessitated by the nation’s “difficult circumstances.”

The conditions “led me forcefully and with all regret to make up my mind … and assume the rule of the country as successor to my father, who will remain the cherished father of all,” he said.