As Britain's head of state-in-waiting, Prince William will one day receive intelligence reports, and the heir to the throne got a start on such briefings by visiting MI6 on Thursday, June 13. The future king was without his future queen Kate, Princess of Wales, and the "secret meeting" has become shrouded in mystery.
There was no advance announcement of the conclave, and His Royal Highness' trip appeared in the Court Circular — which has historically published the public activities of the senior royals the next day — as a listing on Friday, June 14. The one-sentence summary read: "The Prince of Wales this afternoon visited the Secret Intelligence Service," with no location or additional details given."
The visit follows the next monarch's solo visits with MI5, GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters) and MI6 in 2019, which the late Queen Elizabeth II requested to educate the future King William V on Britain's intelligence services.
"These agencies are full of people from everyday backgrounds doing the most extraordinary work to keep us safe," HRH revealed that year. "They work in secret, often not even able to tell their family and friends about the work they do or the stresses they face."
William first visited MI6 in 2012 with Kate, the then-Duchess of Cambridge, who likely did not accompany him this time due to her ongoing preventative chemotherapy treatments.
This comes amid a new report that suggested the heir to the throne is "thriving in his role" as Prince of Wales, even though he is grappling with King Charles and Kate's cancer struggles.
"I think it remains very positive that Prince William has really stepped up to the mark with the king being out of action for a few months," royal photographer Samir Hussein told an outlet.
The lensman then spoke about the heir to the British throne's own personal crisis while being all smiles as royal duty calls.
"Prince William’s been through so much, obviously, with what’s been happening with Kate, which we didn’t know about for so long," he added. "I think he’s done remarkably well in really, really trying circumstances."
In the wake of her continued treatments, his future queen did not attend the Colonel's Review on Saturday, June 8, for Trooping the Colour rehearsals. Although it is still unknown if HRH will go to the actual event on Saturday, June 15, some insiders speculate she may appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
Prince William has stood by his wife and father's sides throughout their ordeals this year, but one royal insider suggests these double "blows" when added to losing Diana, Princess of Wales, when he was only 15, could have the future king "in crisis."
Daily Express reported on William's MI6 visit.