When the Prince of Wales arrives in Saudi Arabia on Monday, it will be his biggest diplomatic challenge yet.
It is hoped that the quiet diplomacy Prince William has already been known to deploy to great effect, most notably with President Trump, could help further relations between the two countries.
The British government, which has made this its “one big ask” of William this year, hopes that the visit could boost talks taking place behind the scenes about trade, defence, counterterrorism and regional stability, while promoting shared interests between the two countries when it comes to education and culture.
William will be hoping to leave behind the scandal surrounding his uncle Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and a slew of revelations from the Epstein files.
For now, there are other issues at stake. For months, a series of British government officials have been landing at Riyadh airport, after Sir Keir Starmer’s trip in 2024, as the UK government works to secure a free trade agreement with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).
In October Rachel Reeves led a delegation to Saudi Arabia and last week the business and trade minister Chris Bryant was there to help seal the deal.
Saudi Arabia’s minister for finance with Rachel Reeves during a visit last year
KIRSTY O’CONNOR/TREASURY
In an interview with a Saudi news channel last week, Bryant said: “I’m not the only person coming from the governments in the UK over the next few months here to Saudi Arabia. We’ve had several ministers in the past few months and there will be more coming later this year.”
Speaking about the negotiations with the GCC, which comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Bryant said: “I wish I could tell you exactly where we’re at. Before Christmas, I was thinking we were 95 per cent done. Maybe we’re 97.5 per cent done.
“You know, I’ve got milk, you’ve got eggs, somebody else has got flour. And if the three of us trade together, we can all make pancakes.”
These will be very lucrative pancakes if William can help push the deal to 100 per cent.
Last year there was £16.6 billion of trade between Saudi Arabia and the UK, an increase of 3 per cent from the previous year. In a video shared with his social media followers last week, Bryant was seen telling Dr Ahmad bin Mohammed Al-Sayed, his Saudi counterpart: “And of course, you’re big investors in the UK. You have hotels, you’ve got Harrods.”
While British politicians appear to be developing relationships in Saudi Arabia, however, they lack any staying power guarantee. Cue, William.
An ancient tomb at al-Ula
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He will arrive in the capital, Riyadh, and then go on to al-Ula, the ancient desert oasis and Unesco world heritage site. But there will be far more to do than sightseeing during his three-day visit.
A Kensington Palace source said: “This is a classic example of the soft power of the monarchy and this is him building a relationship with one of our most important bilateral partners in the Middle East.”
More than just trade and oil, there is likely to be a focus from Saudi Arabia on what else the country has to offer. There will be discussions about Vision 2030, the government programme which aims to diversify the kingdom’s economy away from oil and instead make it a hub for tourism, technology and sporting events.
William is expected to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as “MBS”, the King’s sixth son and the country’s ruler, who has styled himself as a reformer.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Amidst controversy over human rights abuses and the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist killed in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, Prince Mohammed has addressed some of his critics, saying the murder was a “huge mistake” and something which would never happen again. He has denied orchestrating the murder, for which several Saudis have been arrested.
The Saudi government is likely to want to show William how it is looking to the future as a country that will host the Fifa World Cup in 2034 and where women are now allowed to drive.
William’s trip comes at a crucial time for UK relations with the Middle East powerhouse. Northeast across the Gulf lies Iran, and Yemen to the south, where Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies have begun a military offensive against a UAE-backed separatist group.
From the UK, the importance of the royal connection between the British and Saudi royal families was seen when the crown prince visited Britain in 2018.
Lord McDonald of Salford, head of the Foreign Office at the time, told Valentine Low, the former royal correspondent for The Times and author of Power and the Palace, that Mohammed had been invited to join a special meeting with the cabinet in the cabinet room.
McDonald said: “But the whisper came back that he was a bit disappointed because there was no meeting with Her Majesty. And so, very quickly, with Her Majesty responding with alacrity, a lunch was arranged at Buckingham Palace. That, of course, was the highlight of the visit.”
Following his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, the King has laid a lot of the groundwork for what will be William’s first trip to the country.
William first met the crown prince with Charles in 2018, and it is understood that the King met his son recently to tell him about his many previous visits to Saudi Arabia, where he took part in traditional sword dances.
Now, William will take the relationship on to a new generation as two millennial princes prepare to meet again.