Kensington Palace has confirmed Prince William met with the British Secret Intelligence Service on Thursday but the reason for the sudden visit to MI6 is unclear.
The King has yet to add Princess Catherine to the Order of the Garter, which has “raised eyebrows” amongst the public, according to SkyNews.com.au Digital Reporter Reilly Sullivan.
While Princess Kate has yet to become a lady of the garter, she is currently the most popular Royal Family member in the UK, with an approval rating of 71 per cent in the first quarter of 2024.
“I was talking to Paul Burrell … and he thinks it’s quite interesting that Charles hasn’t picked Catherine for this yet,” Mr Sullivan told Sky News Digital Presenter Gabriella Power.
“He sort of thinks that maybe it indicates that even though Kate is so popular … she isn’t necessarily a favourite in the eyes of the King and that he’s holding out.”
William’s visit to the MI6 building – an icon of postmodern architecture immortalised in the James Bond films – was not announced in advance and was only made public on Friday.
The visit has been logged in the Court Circular, the daily list of official royal engagements that is published the next day but details remain secret.
“The Prince of Wales this afternoon visited the Secret Intelligence Service,” the simple entry read with no location or additional details given.
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The Prince of Wales met with MI6 on Thursday. Picture by Toby Melville – WPA Pool/Getty Images.
The MI6 building, also known as Vauxhall Cross, has featured in several Bond films beginning with GoldenEye in 1995 and subsequently appeared in The World Is Not Enough (1999), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015).
William’s visit to the secret intelligence service also falls just days before the Trooping the Colour military celebrations marking the King’s official birthday over the weekend.
Tens of thousands of Brits are expected to line the Mall to witness the entire royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the traditional flyover but at least one major royal will be missing.
Princess Catherine will skip the annual celebrations amid her public hiatus while receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
The MI6 Building, Vauxhall Cross, has featured in many James Bond films. Picture: Nick Ray.
Kate, 42, confirmed her cancer diagnosis in an emotional video message in March and revealed she had started “preventative chemotherapy”, which prompted a global outpouring of support for the future Queen.
The revelation also ended global speculation about her health and whereabouts after she disappeared from public life following major abdominal surgery in January.
However, online chatter about Kate’s whereabouts has ramped up again in recent days after a new conspiracy theory emerged that the Princess of Wales has secretly left the United Kingdom.
Remarkably, the speculation can be traced to just one TikTok video that took an anonymous comment from Reddit claiming Kate is secretly staying in Texas for cancer treatment.
Kate is “going well” amid her cancer treatment but will skip Trooping the Colour this weekend. Picture: AP Photo/Alastair Grant.
The now-viral TikTok suggested the Princess of Wales is actually in Houston and staying at the St. Regis Hotel while in town for treatment at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center.
According to a new story published in the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday, a Kensington Palace representative confirmed to the outlet these rumours are false.
In reality, the Princess is understood to be residing between the Wales’ family home, Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor estate and their country home Anmer Home in rural Norfolk.
Kensington Palace earlier confirmed Kate was still being briefed on her major royal causes on an intermittent basis amid her treatment but has declined to reveal when the royal will likely resume her public life.