Well, this is interesting. Prince William has barely done any public events in the past five weeks. He went to Dubai for a day and flashed his jazz hands and almost melted in the Dubai heat. He also did some honours-presenting this week, but again, nowhere near as visible as his keen wife has been over the past five to six weeks. This week, a curious addition was made on the Court Circular after the fact: William went to MI6 yesterday, just before Russia invaded Ukraine.
The Duke of Cambridge made a secret visit to MI6 – just hours before Russia launched its attack on Ukraine. Second in line to the throne William privately visited the Secret Intelligence Service, which deals with foreign intelligence and protects the UK from risks abroad, in London on Wednesday morning.
The visit was not publicised and appeared only afterwards in the Court Circular. It is understood the visit had been in William’s diary for a number of weeks. In 2019, William spent three weeks working with MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to learn about how the UK’s security and intelligence agencies worked.
It is not known whether the duke met with the head of MI6 Richard Moore, known in Whitehall as C. William’s visit to the intelligence service yesterday took place just hours before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine with explosions heard across major cities.
I saw some people talking about how this looks bad but maybe I’m missing something? Because I don’t really see it as a bad or good thing. Y’all know I’m not a Baldemort Defender or anything, but he is “the second in line” and he’s obviously going to be included in security briefings and such. Keep in mind, he’s also a complete lightweight. It’s more likely that Prince Charles (and the Queen, and everyone else) have told him flat-out that he needs to get more serious about his preparations to be Prince of Wales, preparations which include regular security briefings and understanding the role of intelligence agencies and all of that. I would also assume that this was added to the Court Circular after the fact because A) it’s actually a security issue for William to go personally to MI6 and B) no one wants to underline the fact that a nearly 40-year-old man still needs his (jazz) hand held through personal security briefings.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.
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- North America Rights Only – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates -20220210- The Duke of Cambridge talks to Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, during his visit to Abu Dhabi’s wetlands at the Jubail Mangrove Park to learn more about the UAE’s efforts to protect the regional flora and fauna from human and environmental challenges, particularly as the country’s urban centres continue to grow and develop, as part of his tour of the United Arab Emirates. -PICTURED: Prince William and Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan -PHOTO by: Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror/PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- North America Rights Only – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates -20220210- The Duke of Cambridge talks to Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, during his visit to Abu Dhabi’s wetlands at the Jubail Mangrove Park to learn more about the UAE’s efforts to protect the regional flora and fauna from human and environmental challenges, particularly as the country’s urban centres continue to grow and develop, as part of his tour of the United Arab Emirates. -PICTURED: Prince William and Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan -PHOTO by: Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror/PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- North America Rights Only – Dubai, United Arab Emirates -20220210-Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge with His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai during his visit to the UK Pavilion at Expo2020 in Dubai, as part of his tour of the United Arab Emirates. -PICTURED: Prince William and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum -PHOTO by: PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- HRH Prince William – The Duke of Cambridge departs BAFTA, London, England, UK on Thursday 27 January, 2022.,Image: 656908125, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
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- HRH PRINCE WILLIAM TODAY VISITED THE NEWLY REOPENED BAFTA HQ WHERE HE MET PARTICIPIANTS OFTHE BURSARY AND SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMMES AND TO MEET PARTICIPIANTS IN THE MENTORING PROGRAMME,Image: 656914822, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: PAUL GROVER / Avalon
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- HRH THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE VISITS BAFTA TO MARK THE REOPENING OF THEIR HQ,Image: 656915035, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: PAUL GROVER / Avalon
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- HRH THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE VISITS BAFTA TO MARK THE REOPENING OF THEIR HQ,Image: 656915085, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: PAUL GROVER / Avalon
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- North America Rights Only – Dubai, United Arab Emirates -20220210-Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge with His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai during his visit to the UK Pavilion at Expo2020 in Dubai, as part of his tour of the United Arab Emirates. -PICTURED: Prince William -PHOTO by: PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
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- North America Rights Only – Abu Dhabi, UAE -20220210-Prince William Duke of Cambridge watches concert celebrating the achievements of the UK and the contributions it has made to the world at the Al Wasl Dome at Expo2020, as part of his tour of the United Arab Emirates. -PICTURED: Prince William -PHOTO by: PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishing
He managed to get away from trimming rose bushes to receiving a briefing, how nice for him.
Wasn’t there a story a couple years ago about Willyboy doing some spy training related stuff with MI6? I think he just wants to playact James Bond.
Or is it because mrs jazz hands is out of the country?? Since this was a scheduled meeting, maybe it is about the upcoming separation???
Yup, yup, yup, I called it – they’ve got him cramming all the homework he’s refused to do all these years.
Wonder what’s got him to agree to this cramming? Has someone (read: Charles) promised him Royal Lodge? Ft. Belvedere? A divorce? Immediate granting of the POW title?
I don’t think divorce, there are too many negative stories that need to be digested right now, but POW seems likely.
I mean, that’s what he should be doing! There’s a full scale military action happening, he should want to be informed.
I do find it funny that this article felt the need to say that Wills spent three weeks at spy camp in 2019, so don’t worry, he totally gets it, guys, don’t worry about a thing.
He’s not even the commander in chief at this point. It’s still his grandma. He doesn’t need to know anything about top secret military movements.
Even the queen isn’t making actual military decisions at this point. She never has.
That’s true. I guess I interpreted it as more of a briefing that had been scheduled for whenever the invasion seemed imminent, more to give updates, so they can say the royal family has been informed. I sincerely doubt they are looking for William’s advice!
Maybe Ukraine is a red herring and MI6 are really looking to check in on how his more recent trip abroad went. His ch(arms) tourof Dubai, so to speak. Wasn’t he supposedly there at the behest of the British govt? Maybe they wanna see his vacation snaps.
Or…FFK William is attempting to fill a power vacuum while the grown ups are out of commission. That would track, too.
With both the queen and his father, each elderly, recently contracting covid it’s pretty sensible to get him up to speed.
Right now the war is limited to between Russia and Ukraine but should any NATO country in Europe be attacked or invaded then full scale European war could break out. MI6 will be looking at many many scenarios, and one of them will be the safety of the Royal Family, therefore William is probably being debriefed and updated about security plans for the royals.
Maybe he’s been cast as the new James Bond
He wishes, lol.
Was the Burger King there to buddy up with MI6 so they will keep him in the loop on all of Harry’s comings and goings?
Legitimately, you need to be worried about the future of your country if Willnot gets security briefings so sensitive he needs to rush to MI-6. I can’t think of anyone I would like to be in charge less, other than Trump, obviously.
It remains wild that the grandson of a head of state would get informed on this. The UK has a government making real decisions here. William isn’t making any decisions and he’s two people away from even being the symbolic head of state. Let’s hope he was just there for something basic and not being given actual top secret information. He’s pretty bad at keeping things under wraps and he’s compromised anyway with all his affairs. He could easily be blackmailed by Putin.
Canada has the queen as head of state and it’s not like she or the GG are being shown information from CSIS. Because they are irrelevant here.
Excellent points!
To the extent that CSIS is sharing with MI6, I’m sure she is informed via her red boxes. The Queen is 95. Charles is 73. Both have COVID. Time for Baldemort to get serious.
Yes he’s the grandson of the Head of State, but he’s also occupying the same place in the line of succession as the U.S. Speaker of the House. It makes sense to keep him abreast of developments that could drag the nation into war.
I disagree, Dutch, that he is in the same position as Pelosi because while the Speaker of the House could potentially be elevated to POTUS, The Other Brother will never be elevated to Prime Minister. The queen/king is a symbolic head of state.
William is not part of the government. He will not become anything vaguely relevant until he is head of state. Even giving charles this information is dumb.
And no monarch is going to make any military decisions. Churchill was making decisions during the war not George VI. At most he was informed of what was going to be done.
Like it or not Boris is making all the decisions here. Just like when the Queen placidly agreed to prorogue the government, she is not going to advise Boris to send troops or not. He’s going to decide.
It is a fiction that the PM is told what to do by the monarch. They only advise and can be ignored. And really it’s always better that the elected person is the one making the real decisions.
WHAT? There is no universe where Will is the same as Speaker of the House. He occupies the same place as as assistant party host, that’s it. He certainly should not be receiving any classified information, but that is up to the Brits to decide.
And yet, he gets classified security briefings before a major act of war occurs. Looking at you, Great Britain. If ever there was a time to abolish the monarchy, this must be it. Don’t tell me how complicated it is, WILLNOT had to rush to MI-6, to be briefed. This is Saturday Night Live levels of hilarity, if only the poor Ukraine wasn’t in the cross hairs.
This would be like Mel Gibson rushing to Scotland, as if he actually was William Wallace, hoping to achieve independence.
Wow, the defence ministry of uk really trust the royals to make a decision for them.
Isnt Andrew sold state information to other country?
Considering the large number of Tories with links to Russian oligarchs, I’m suspicious of this. He’s unqualified and a security risk.
I’m laughing at what the briefing must have been.
MI6 Director who drew the short straw: “Here’s Russia – that’s where Putin lives and he’s been mean to his frenemies in Ukraine – there’s Ukraine. Now, remember, we’re over here…no…no, the island, yes, that’s right. That one. Now, that’s the basics. Thank you so much for coming.”
TOBB: “Jolly good work. I hope he stops being mean. I’m so bored of invasions…”
Hilarious! You know William didn’t understand anything said so there will be many follow up calls to add to the Court Circular. And follow up calls about the previous follow up calls. William will be quite busy!
You’d have to give him the geopolitical briefing package which includes a small plastic toy.
William should be doing more.
If the event was on his calendar for weeks, then I imagine it wasn’t a super urgent meeting. If he was being briefed on Russia and Ukraine, I would feel like they wouldn’t wait weeks for that, right? So maybe it was a top-level security briefing, maybe someone wanted to give him a tour of new office space or something.
The secrecy of it makes sense, the Queen’s grandson and FFK visiting the country’s intelligence agency? I give the Cambs a hard time for all their embargoed events (which end up just seeming like the Cambs never want to commit to anything) but this one makes sense to me.
No idea how security briefings are done in UK; but I imagine it’s not like the US where everyone knows the President gets a daily briefing directly. I imagine that the Queen’s security briefings would come from the Prime Minister. I wouldn’t think the Queen would get direct security briefings from M16. Maybe William was getting briefings on his upcoming tour.
Maybe Willy Wonka wants to be the next Spy Hard.
Could it be that the lazy assed duo are really just acting and are deep cover spies for British government all this time?!
M16 really has its work cut out trying to gather any intelligence from those two.
Because this meeting was prescheduled, I would think it is just the standard ” orientation to your pending new position, on the job training and meeting department heads”. Charles thinks he and Wm are both moving up sooner than we think.
I’d bet large sums of money that no one in the RF has a security clearance. They would have absolutely no need to know any classified information, what would be the point? They aren’t making decisions for anything related to security, and it would be absurd to consider that they would have anything to offer there, frankly. They’re figureheads that give people the warm fuzzies about their country. Maybe they give them unclassified security briefings before royal tours, things to watch out for, political issues, etc., but to give them any access to sensitive information would be nuts. People with these kinds of scandals are security risks, and being born to the right family doesn’t override that (being elected does, sadly, see the Trump family). Just my 2 cents.
Could this have anything to do with Harry’s security, do you think? If it’s been on the books for weeks…? Harry’s lawsuit may also have precipitated this (I’m sure they knew about it long before we did). …. but maybe not…we don’t really know anything and anything coming from them is simply a distraction and/or a lie.
Was Prince Michael of Kent, an oligarch’s best friend, not sent on a peace mission to Moscow? Maybe he’ll debrief Will.
Will gets involved in the real issues. Like complaining when William Shatner went up into space for a few minutes.LOL
There is no need for this information to be public. While it is customary for governments in the west to share some data because of alliances like eg. NATO. and NORAD, is it necessary for that be extended with the second heir? Should that exchange be public?
The Queen is alive, if unavailable, there is her heir. This is serious, a nuclear power attack its neighbour, in an attempt at re-colonization: it is no time to indulge one’s Churchillian fantasies.