Prince William to make first official visit to Saudi Arabia after request from Keir Starmer
The Prince of Wales will make his first official visit to Saudi Arabia in February, at the request of the British government.
Kensington Palace said the trip comes as Britain and Saudi Arabia approach a century of diplomatic relations in 2027 and the countries “celebrate their growing trade, energy and investment ties”.
William’s first official visit to the country will take place from Monday 9 February to Wednesday 11 February. This tour will be the Prince’s first official overseas visit of the new year.
This will be William’s first visit to the Middle East since a trip to Kuwait in 2023, where he offered his condolences following the death of former ruling emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah.
The Prince of Wales has previously visited neighboring countries (United Arab Emirates and Oman).
During his visit to the United Arab Emirates in 2022, the then-Duke of Cambridge expressed concerns about climate change in a speech at Dubai Expo 2020, warning that “change is not happening fast enough or on the scale we need.”
More recently, in November last year, the future king made a five-day visit to Brazil to stage the Earthshot Award.
The relationship between the royal family and Saudi Arabia began with Queen Elizabeth II almost a century ago. It began with Elizabeth’s first visit to the country in 1979.
The UK Government has previously expressed concerns about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and imposed sanctions on 20 Saudi citizens involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2020.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 356 people have been executed by Saudi authorities in 2025. Last year, a record was broken for the highest number of executions in a single year in the country.
But when the Prime Minister first met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2024, he was accused of putting the prospect of economic growth ahead of human rights concerns.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government has since strengthened its relations with the country, with recent visits to Saudi by the Chancellor and Foreign Secretary.
Rishi Sunak also invited Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and prime minister, Mohammed bin Salman, to the UK in the autumn of 2023.
Saudi Arabia has also faced accusations of “tainted by sports” by investing in sporting events such as the World Cup, which it will host in 2034, in order to distance itself from the alleged wrongdoing and give a positive image to the world.
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