Saudi Arabia has appointed Princess Reema bint Bandar as its diplomatic representative to the US – the first female ambassador in the history of the kingdom.

In a series of royal decrees issued by Saudi Arabia late on Saturday, Riyadh named its current envoy to Washington, Prince Khalid bin Salman, as deputy minister of defence with the ranking of minister, in addition to allocating a bonus of a month's salary to soldiers fighting to the south at the Saudi border with Yemen.

Princess Reema's appointment marks the first ambassadorship for a Saudi woman. She is familiar with US politics and society, having lived in Washington when her father Prince Bandar was ambassador and studied at US universities.