bitchy | Times: Prince William is growing into ‘the UK’s secret weapon of diplomacy’

Prince Wiliam, the Prince of Wales, will turn 44 years old this summer. His office and the British royal reporters still talk about him like a surly youth who must be applauded as an “international statesman” and “diplomat” whenever he does just a small fraction of what his father did in his 20s. So it is with William’s upcoming “visit” to Saudi Arabia. He will travel to the kingdom for a whirlwind two-day trip, arriving in Riyadh on February 9th. There’s a reason why The Times’ Roya Nikkhah got a huge exclusive about the trip this weekend: it’s because William ALWAYS does this, he always overhypes and underdelivers. The hype is always “Scooter King is the second coming of George C. Marshall” and then the actual trip happens and it’s just sad-sack Peggington wandering around, doing god-awful photo-ops and being treated like the village idiot. Some highlights from Nikkhah’s new Times piece:

William will meet with Mohammed bin Salman: The two-day visit, at the request of the British government, begins on February 9. William will be on a royal soft power mission celebrating “growing trade, energy and investment ties” with the richest state in the Middle East “as the two nations approach a century of diplomatic relations” next year. Intelligence-sharing and security will also be on the agenda. William is expected to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as “MBS”. The controversial de facto ruler of the kingdom will be keen to use William’s visit to burnish his credentials as a reforming leader in a region of dictators.

William pays attention to the Middle East: But the Middle East is a region William follows closely. He is alive to the sensitivities of visiting a regime that continues to be dogged by questions of human rights abuses and the murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Mohammed recently described the killing as a “huge mistake”. Sources close to William say he has become increasingly adept at handshakes and bilaterals with divisive world leaders — pointing to his warm relationship with Trump as a marker of what William knows is required of his role — in the national interest.

A serious global statesman: A royal source said: “William has emerged as a serious global statesman and a discreet but highly effective asset for the UK government. He has shown that, when called upon, he is willing and able to engage and deliver, quietly building bridges where diplomacy requires trust as much as visibility. His engagement on the international stage, including his ability to connect with figures such as President Trump, underlines why he is increasingly viewed as a secret weapon in Britain’s diplomatic toolkit: credible, measured and effective.”

A secret weapon: William is conscious of his growing role as “the UK’s secret weapon of diplomacy” and the importance being placed on the government’s “number one ask of him this year”, following recent high-profile recent visits to Saudi Arabia by Trump, President Macron of France, the chancellor Rachel Reeves, who visited last year and Sir Keir Starmer, who went in 2024. While William is expected to visit the US in the summer, at Trump’s invitation, to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence and to visit India in the autumn for his environmental prize, Earthshot, the Saudi trip is his only scheduled travel this year at the government’s request.

A 40-something man with growing confidence, please clap: William’s engagements in the capital, Riyadh, and the ancient desert city of AlUla, a Unesco world heritage site, will be shaped by the government’s objectives on trade and investment. But due to his growing stature and confidence as a statesman, the programme will also reflect his personal interests, including wildlife conservation and football.

William’s breezy visits: Like Estonia, where William was on the ground for less than 36 hours, the Saudi trip will be quick — just over 48 hours — reflecting his new approach to royal trips. Aides say that, when it comes to William’s vision for “the role that modern monarchy has in diplomacy”, it is “impact”, not endurance, that delivers. The prince makes no secret of scheduling his official work around his home life so that he can prioritise being a present father to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis and will return to the UK in time for his children’s half-term school holiday, which begins on February 13.

William is going there to get Saudi Arabia to invest in the Global Combat Air Programme: There has been concern about the UK’s ability to finance it given strains on the public purse and defence budgets. Saudi Arabia joining would not only make the economics easier — Riyadh is also expected to buy 48 fourth-generation Typhoon fighter jets from UK arms giant BAE Systems. “He’s going out there for a reason,” said one source of the Prince’s visit. “It would be surprising if [his briefing papers] didn’t include GCAP. Royal family visits to Arabian states are for two reasons: to build business partnerships and to keep relationships strong.”

[From The Times]

While I’m no diplomatic heavy, I can read between the lines: the British government is sending William to do some photo-ops and get face time with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman because Britain needs some things from Saudi Arabia and not the other way around. They need Saudi Arabia to buy fighter jets and invest in GCAP and probably several other programs. In typical British fashion, they’re making it sound like William has some kind of tricky agenda or that the Saudis are lucky to see him. Nope. It would probably be too problematic to send King Charles to meet with MBS, so William is all they’ve got. They’re probably praying that William doesn’t blunder into an international incident. And I’m sure some lackey has been sent to read the briefing papers to poor illiterate William too. But he’s a “secret weapon” you guys!! Super-secret.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.