- According to a new royal press release, Prince William spent the last three weeks working with undercover British spies.
- Kensington Palace shared the news on Twitter and on its official website, including a breakdown of how Will spent his three weeks in intelligence.
- Will spoke highly of the men and women in the intelligence agencies in a quote he gave about the experience.
The name is William, Prince William.
Yes, that's right, the Duke of Cambridge is apparently a spy—or at least he kind of interned as one. Kensington Palace revealed that Will just finished three weeks of work as a spy. Why? Well, here's the reason, in Will's own words:
“Spending time inside our security and intelligence agencies, understanding more about the vital contribution they make to our national security, was a truly humbling experience.
These agencies are full of people from everyday backgrounds doing the most extraordinary work to keep us safe.
They work in secret, often not even able to tell their family and friends about the work they do or the stresses they face.
They are driven by an unrivaled patriotism and dedication to upholding the values of this country.
We all owe them deep gratitude for the difficult and dangerous work they do.”
The exact details of any real spying Will got to do aren't super clear, but Kensington Palace did give a basic breakdown of Will's three weeks as an agent, which included work with at least three different agencies.
Will's foray into the world of espionage started with a week of working with the Secret Intelligence Service—also known as MI6, roughly the UK's equivalent of the CIA, which focuses on international intelligence. Then, Will spent a week working with the Security Service, MI5 (which focuses on domestic intelligence) and finally, a week at the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham, "where he spent time with those using cutting-edge technology, technical ingenuity and wide-ranging partnerships to identify, analyze and disrupt threats," according to the Palace.
And, apparently, the agencies were happy to have a royal in their ranks.
"Having The Duke of Cambridge spend time with our teams was an incredible opportunity. William worked exceptionally hard to embed himself in the team and comfortably held his own amongst some highly skilled analysts and operators," explained a man identified only as "David, GCHQ Head of Counter-Terrorism Operations" told the Palace for its press release. "His Royal Highness asked some probing questions and demonstrated a real grasp of our mission. This was a rare opportunity to expose, in detail, the technical ingenuity and problem solving skills needed on a daily basis to help keep the UK safe."
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