Prince William walks a tightrope in Saudi Arabia

威廉王子在沙特阿拉伯走钢丝

The Story

2026-02-09

29 分钟
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Prince William is making his first visit to Saudi Arabia this week to celebrate “growing trade, energy and investment ties” between the kingdom and the UK. But with a number of sensitive issues on the table – from defence and intelligence sharing to Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record – how will the prince walk the diplomatic tightrope? Should the UK be pursuing a closer relationship with the kingdom at all?  This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.com/thestory Guests:  Roya Nikkhah, royal editor, The Sunday Times. Sir William Patey, former UK Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Host: Luke Jones.  Producers: Julia Webster, Micaela Arneson.   We want to hear from you - email: thestory@thetimes.com Read more: Prince William to visit Saudi Arabia as diplomatic ‘secret weapon’ Further listening: Travelling with the Duchess in a war zone Clips:  NBC, BBC, HM Treasury. Photo: Dana Chan, Getty Images. This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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  • From The Times and The Sunday Times, this is the story.

  • I'm Luke Jones.

  • Prince William is off to Saudi Arabia,

  • a well-beaten desert path for British royals looking to curry favour on behalf of our government.

  • The visits can often be fun and games, sword dances, lavish dinners,

  • Do yourself a favour and search online for a picture of then Prince Charles in full Arabian dress complete with golden sword,

  • dagger and an ammunition belt.

  • But is the task harder for Prince William in 2026?

  • What with the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia still accused of overseeing the murder of a journalist?

  • The United Nations has just issued its report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

  • The Saudi journalist was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October last year.

  • The CIA and some Western countries believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,

  • Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, ordered the killing.

  • Saudi officials have always denied this.

  • For all its recent modernising, Saudi Arabia is still a country with a dismal human rights record.

  • It's not a place you'd want to stand trial.

  • They still execute people for being gay, for protesting, but they have a lot of money.

  • Huge opportunities for the UK and for Saudi Arabia and the other GCC countries to access UK capital markets,

  • to have our services businesses, whether it's insurance,

  • financial services, or indeed education and health.