Prince William traveled to Saudi Arabia on Monday for his first diplomatic trip to the country, in a visit intended to strengthen relations between Britain and the Arab kingdom.
The trip came at the request of the British government, according to Kensington Palace, a sign of Britain’s confidence that a visit from the heir to the throne will help burnish ties with Saudi Arabia, seen as a strategically important partner.
William is set to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the country, who was briefly an international pariah after the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2018.
In recent years, the crown prince has cultivated business and diplomatic ties around the world, refurbishing his image and becoming a major geopolitical power player.
William’s visit to the country, which is led by an authoritarian monarchy with a poor human rights record, will test his diplomatic skills.
It also signals the increasingly prominent public role that the prince has played for his family following the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, and the ascension of his father, King Charles III, to the throne.
The trip comes as the royal family has come under renewed scrutiny over ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and financier. The latest tranche of documents released by the Department of Justice showed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, maintained close relations with Mr. Epstein even after he was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008.
Ahead of the visit to Saudi Arabia, William and his wife, Catherine, issued their first statement on the latest revelations related to Mr. Epstein. “The Prince and Princess of Wales have been deeply concerned by the continued revelations,” a Kensington Palace spokesman said. “Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.”
William and his father met the Saudi crown prince in 2018 in London, before Mr. Khashoggi was assassinated.
In a statement, Kensington Palace said the visit would “celebrate growing trade, energy and investment ties, and as the two nations approach a century of diplomatic relations.”
William will travel to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of At-Turaif, in Diriyah, the ancestral home of the Saudi royal family, where the crown prince will give him a private tour. The site is a centerpiece of a $63 billion project set to transform the historic town into a tourism and cultural destination.
Megan Specia reports on Britain, Ireland and the Ukraine war for The Times. She is based in London.
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