Here are some photos of Prince William, the Prince of Wales, today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He arrived in the kingdom on Monday and quickly appeared at a photocall with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka Prince Bonesaw, the man who ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Apparently, William’s gift to MBS was a signed Harry Kane jersey (Kane is a footballer). There’s no word on what MBS gave to William. Today, William visited the Sports Boulevard in Riyadh and spoke to people involved with the Saudis’ “environmentally sustainable urban regeneration program.”
Meanwhile, it seems pretty notable that this is the second international trip in a row where William has been overshadowed by other stories involving his family. When he was in Brazil last year, his father knighted David Beckham (hilarious) and Prince Harry visited Canada for work (also hilarious). William’s Saudi trip is being overshadowed by Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and King Charles’s failure to manage the crisis. To be fair, William has also failed to manage the crisis on his end. William sent out his spokesperson with a vague statement about “focusing on the victims” ahead of William’s arrival in Riyadh, but William’s big-boy meeting with MBS was overshadowed by Charles agreeing to work with the police as they investigate Andrew. Royal commentator Robert Jobson had an interesting piece on how William and Kate need to be saying more:
On Monday, William and Kate publicly seemed to have acknowledged this and entered the arena. Except they didn’t actually speak themselves. A Kensington Palace spokesman in Riyadh, hoping no doubt that the Epstein scandal won’t dominate his boss’s official visit to Saudi Arabia, did the talking. ‘The Prince and Princess of Wales have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims,’ he said.
It was a carbon copy of a previous statement, by the King and Queen. Vague. Evasive. No mention of Andrew himself. Public reaction to their statement has been swift and, at times, scathing. Some online comments talked of a ‘cover-up’, others remarked that words like ‘deep concern’ mean nothing.
There are those who argue that William, as heir to the throne, is at least addressing this huge problem by breaking his silence. And yet the statement William and Kate have put out feels hollow given the gravity and reach of this abuse scandal that engulfs the mega-rich and social and political elite. It smacks not of leadership, but damage control.
The truth is the royals have to get a grip on this. The public clamour for an apology is growing — and for an apology that specifically mentions Andrew. The Press statement from Kensington Palace will not keep the public at bay.
William is furious, so we are told, over the behaviour of his disgraced uncle, Andrew. The release of the files has brutally exposed how Andrew lied about his sordid activities and his links to Epstein. And William is said to be disgusted by it all. So why does he not tell the nation what he feels about his uncle, and apologise on behalf of the royals? Instead, we get corporate PR speak. People are rightly growing frustrated at the lack of transparency and accountability at the heart of our Establishment, whether it is the royals, politicians, or the church. The truth has to be dragged out of them.
I have reported on the royals for 35 years, and there have been many scandal and crises. I wasn’t around when Edward VIII quit, but this is beginning to feel like the biggest crisis since the abdication.
From where I sit, Britain’s political reporters smell blood in the water with Keir Starmer’s government and they’re not going to settle down until Starmer either resigns or his government has zero political capital. That’s emboldened royal reporters, who are attempting to (at long last) push King Charles and Prince William to do more and say more. It’s pretty funny to watch both William and Charles get it so wrong and show their consistently bad management and instincts.
Update: William ignored a reporter who called out an Epstein question in Saudi Arabia.
The Prince of Wales has ignored questions about his uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the ongoing fallout from revelations in the Epstein files during a visit to a sports centre in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
Read more: https://t.co/VTh6Klwao6 pic.twitter.com/QnRoomQWlB
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 10, 2026
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
