LONDON: Prince William’s arrival in Riyadh on Monday will be a reaffirmation of the special bond between the monarchies of Britain and Saudi Arabia that was forged in the early days of the reign of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and which has flourished ever since.
But for the 43-year-old prince, heir apparent to the British throne, his first official visit to the Kingdom will also be imbued with an element of personal poignancy.
William will be following in the footsteps of his mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who visited Saudi Arabia 40 years ago during a nine-day tour of the Middle East in 1986 with her then husband, Prince Charles.
The couple had married in 1981, and Diana was just 25 years old during their first tour of the Middle East. Prince William, their first child, was three years old at the time and did not accompany his mother on the visit, although as a nine-month-old baby he had travelled with his parents to Australia and New Zealand in 1983.
Prince William (left) was present when King Charles III (right) met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Clarence House in London in March 2018. (AFP file)
