Until his father Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud became Saudi Arabia's seventh king in January 2015, few people outside the kingdom had ever heard of Prince Mohammed.
As part of the changes, Saudi Arabia's current crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, is stripped of all his positions, including that of the country's interior minister, the state news agency said.
A royal decree appointed Mohammed bin Salman crown prince and deputy prime minister. That's something closely followed by fund managers and could mean a lot more foreign investment coming into the kingdom.
As defense minister, he also oversaw the Saudi-led military campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels, which has caused the deaths of thousands of civilians since 2015 and left the country spiraling towards "total social, economic and institutional collapse", according to the United Nations.
Mohammed bin Salman has always been a prominent figure in Saudi politics, seen as a key power player behind the king and a reformer by Kingdom standards. Qatar denies the allegations.
Instead, it was Mohammed bin Salman, who embarked on major overseas visits, including a trip to the White House to meet President Donald Trump in March. Mohammed bin Nayef is heard telling him: "I will rest now, and God help you".
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Another demonstrator said, "This was a case where we thought we would really get some justice, and it turns out we can't". Many people chanted in unison "stand up, fight back" and "if we don't get no justice, they don't get no peace".
The newly announced Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman heads an economic council tasked with overhauling the country's economy. And many Saudis and analysts were surprised when the king gave his son expansive powers despite the presence of more experienced and qualified candidates.
SPA said King Salman appointed the following as advisers to the Royal Court with the rank of minister: Abdul Rahman bin Ali Rubaiaan, Nasser bin Abdulaziz Al Dawoud, Bandar bin Khalid bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
"We've seen the shift of power coming for some time, and the steady centralization of power under King Salman and the purview of his son", said Kristin Smith Diwan, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf State Institute in Washington.
Previously, as deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for running Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen as well as spearheading a global energy policy and plans for a post-oil future for the kingdom.
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a Seattle-based research fellow at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, says the appointment of Mohammed bin Salman could set Saudi policy for decades just due to his young age.
Known for his work as Saudi's counter-terror chief, bin Nayef still maintains a loyal following within the state apparatus, so it was not immediately clear whether he would comply with the royal decree or launch a soft coup in retaliation.
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