Future kings meet in Saudi Arabia but Andrew-Epstein revelations loom over Prince William

LONDON — One of them wore a meticulously cut navy blue suit. The other, a long traditional robe of the men of his desert kingdom. Both are ready to lead their respective nations.

As Britain’s Prince William was led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a tour of the mudbrick At-Turaif district – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and birthplace of the first Saudi state – they appeared at ease in each other’s company.

But the three-day visit, requested by the British government in a bid to strengthen ties with a key Middle East ally and major regional player, was seen by some as a delicate diplomatic mission for the future king as he tries to build a personal image in a torrid time for his family, facing near-daily revelations about former Prince Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

“This is part of his elevation to heir to the throne,” said Craig Prescott, who teaches law at Royal Holloway, University of London, and specializes in the constitutional and political role of the monarchy. This made it clear, he added, that William was second only to his father, King Charles III.

Before this week’s trip, William will no doubt have been briefed on Saudi Arabia, which has been widely criticized for its human rights record, its repression of women and where protests and political dissent are punished.

And he will also have received advice regarding his fellow prince, who, unlike William, is not part of a constitutional monarchy accountable to lawmakers and open to criticism from a free, often noisy, press.

Known by his initials MBS, Crown Prince Mohammed is Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader and a controversial figure with a checkered and bloody history, and the son of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

After the horrific 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his country’s consulate in Istanbul, the crown prince became an international pariah.

US intelligence agencies concluded that the crown prince approved the killing – a claim he has denied – although in 2019 he said he took “full responsibility” for it since it happened on his watch. A Saudi court sentenced five people to death for their involvement in the murder.

Bin Salman has also been widely criticized for the war in Yemen, where fighting between his Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels has led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Although a truce was declared in April 2022, no comprehensive peace agreement has yet been reached.

“I don’t think it’s the responsibility of members of the British royal family to have to deal with issues like human rights,” Ed Owens, an author and royal historian, said in a telephone interview earlier this week.

Instead, he said, William’s visit was “a clever ploy by the British government to send someone who can make sense of the relationship, but who doesn’t have to address difficult questions around what happened to Jamal Khashoggi or other human rights abuses.” »

Kensington Palace said in a statement that William would meet young Saudis and hear “about the country’s ambitious plans for the future, including its commitment to sustainable development.”

But Owens said he believed the goal of the British government, which secured nearly $9 billion in mutual trade and investment deals last year and “has significant interests in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, is for the future king to forge a lasting relationship with another future king.”

Along with his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, William played a crucial role when President Donald Trump made a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom in September; Owens said William’s visit was a continuation of that soft power at play.

“The emphasis here is that William exercises not only his national popularity, but also global fame and popularity in the singular interest of Britain,” he added.

In addition to his visit to At-Turaif, William was taken to a girls’ soccer training session, a relatively new phenomenon in a country where women have only gained more freedoms in recent years, including the right to drive in 2018, although huge limitations remain. He also visited a sustainable farm.

But throughout his visit remained the specter of his uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his titles and his royal home because of his relationship with Epstein. British police said Monday they were investigating whether the former prince leaked sensitive business documents to the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.

Mountbatten-Windsor, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with her affiliation with Epstein, reached a legal settlement with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of the most prominent survivors of Epstein’s sexual abuse, in 2022. She repeatedly alleged that the financier groomed her to his powerful friends, including Andrew, before his death in April.

In their first public statement on the scandal on Tuesday, a spokesperson said William and Kate were “deeply concerned” by the continuing revelations and that “their thoughts remain focused on the victims.”

“In terms of timing, I think it was to try to put those issues aside so the focus could be on the Saudi Arabia trip,” Prescott said.

But the scandal still followed William to Saudi Arabia.

Twice, from the sidelines of a soccer field in Riyadh, a reporter asked to what extent the royal family had done enough on the issue. William didn’t respond, but it wasn’t clear if he heard.

It is highly unlikely that Crown Prince Mohammed would have faced similar questions.