{"id":995,"date":"2021-02-24T06:36:51","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T06:36:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/"},"modified":"2023-04-26T13:37:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T12:37:00","slug":"charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<ul>\n<li><b>Charles\u2019 visits tend to whitewash the Middle Eastern monarchies\u2019 human rights abuses, often coinciding with repression of opposition activists or the media.<\/b><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>He plays a key role in cementing UK relations with key allies, acting as a de facto high-level salesman for British arms exports and promoting military cooperation.<\/b><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>While the palace emphasises his cultural visits, Charles\u2019 meetings are often with senior military, intelligence and internal security officials.<\/b><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Charles is also the patron of the UK intelligence agencies.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Research by <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Declassified<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has found that Prince Charles <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">held 95 meetings with ruling families in the Middle Eastern monarchies since pro-democracy protests threatened their power in the uprisings of a decade ago.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles\u2019 diplomacy in the region, which comes at the request of the Foreign Office, has helped to cement controversial UK alliances with undemocratic regimes and promoted <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/caat.org.uk\/data\/exports-uk\/dashboard?region=Saudi+Arabia,Morocco,United+Arab+Emirates,Jordan,Bahrain,Oman,Qatar,Kuwait&amp;date_from=2011-01&amp;status=approved\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a314.5-billion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> worth of arms exports to them in the last decade.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During 2011, the year of the Arab Spring, Charles met six of the Middle East\u2019s eight monarchs, from Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He subsequently held numerous meetings with dynasties from Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these visits took place just before or during specific acts of repression by these regimes \u2013 especially of opposition activists, the media or religious minorities \u2013 acts which have been regularly condemned by human rights groups.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All of the region\u2019s royal families heavily repress opposition groups, but Qatar and Saudi Arabia have also supported and armed extremist groups in Syria and Libya, while the UAE has played a leading role with the Saudis in the devastating war in Yemen.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whenever Prince Charles travels abroad, Buckingham Palace press releases highlight his visits to charitable causes, schools and hospitals, providing pictures of him and his wife Camilla \u2013 together known as the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall \u2013 with smiling children.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Charles also routinely meets senior military, intelligence and internal security figures, either on overseas trips paid for by the British public purse or at Clarence House, his official residence in London.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Middle East visits, the publicity includes photos of Charles at mosques and Islamic heritage sites, burnishing his image as a \u2018<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.princeofwales.gov.uk\/will-prince-wales-be-defender-faith-or-defender-faith\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">defender of faith<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019 and a bastion of religious tolerance. Almost invariably, such lines are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-37879658\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">repeated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Britain\u2019s royal correspondents, who seldom pay attention to the politics and persecution that accompanies his trips.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles\u2019 visits are part of the British royal family\u2019s broader engagement with Middle Eastern monarchies in support of UK foreign policy. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymaverick.co.za\/article\/2021-02-23-revealed-british-royals-met-tyrannical-middle-east-monarchies-over-200-times-since-arab-spring-erupted-10-years-ago\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Part 1<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of this investigation found that members of the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">royal family have met the region\u2019s monarchies on 217 occasions since 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Charles and the monarchs: the beginning of the Arab Spring<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The willingness of Prince Charles to support fellow royals in the Middle East was evident from the outset of the Arab Spring, when he and Camilla dined with the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, at his palace in Rabat on 4 April 2011.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In breach of international law, Morocco has long occupied its southern neighbour, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/newint.org\/features\/web-exclusive\/2011\/09\/14\/western-sahara-independence-resistance\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Western Sahara<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In November 2010, Moroccan security forces broke up the Gdeim Izik protest camp in the territory, where thousands of Sahrawi activists had pitched tents, causing deaths on both sides.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This unrest, which preceded the higher profile protests at the start of the Arab Spring in Tunisia, soon spread to Morocco itself, where students and teachers staged major demonstrations calling for curbs to the monarchy\u2019s power. King Mohammed VI promised a package of reforms but many people continued to protest, calling for a constitutional monarchy days before Prince Charles was due to arrive.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among the royal entourage was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/people\/clive-alderton\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clive Alderton<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a career diplomat on temporary loan to Clarence House. He would return to the Foreign Office the next year \u2013 as UK ambassador to Morocco. To emphasise their support for the regime, while in Morocco Charles and Camilla visited a military base, watching a skydive by the 1st Brigade <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Infanterie Parachutiste<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/uknews\/prince-charles\/8427559\/Prince-of-Wales-lays-wreath-at-Moroccan-tyrants-tomb.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">laid a wreath<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the tomb of King Hassan II, a move which sparked criticism from a protest leader who pointed out that the previous ruler of Morocco is known for the \u2018Years of Lead\u2019, a period during his reign in which hundreds of dissidents were tortured or killed.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A month after visiting Morocco, Charles met Qatar\u2019s then prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jaber Al Thani (\u201cHBJ\u201d) in London on 23 May 2011. One of the world\u2019s wealthiest men, HBJ had previously been caught up in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2002\/jun\/02\/uk.armstrade\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">allegations<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of money laundering on an arms deal with BAE Systems.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qatar, with its small and wealthy domestic population, was relatively untouched by the Arab Spring, but it was now playing an active international role, sending <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.co.uk\/article\/qatar-supplies-libyan-rebels-with-anti-tank-missiles-6nwzqz576mj\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">arms<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and finance to rebel groups in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/f2d9bbc8-bdbc-11e2-890a-00144feab7de\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Syria<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/12\/06\/world\/africa\/weapons-sent-to-libyan-rebels-with-us-approval-fell-into-islamist-hands.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Libya<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, some of whom had extremist Islamist agendas.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles then flew in October 2011 to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, for one night, at a cost to the public of \u00a367,215. There, he \u201cpresented condolences to the Saudi Royal Family\u201d for the death of Crown Prince Sultan, who died in his 80s after growing enormously wealthy.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Saudi Arabia\u2019s long-standing defence minister, Sultan agreed to billions of pounds worth of weapons purchases from British arms giant BAE Systems, in deals marred by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/SB10001424052970204485304576646451188968760\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bribery<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The funeral came amid what Human Rights Watch called Saudi Arabia\u2019s \u201cunflinching repression to demands by citizens for greater democracy\u201d in the wake of the Arab Spring. The kingdom had executed at least 61 prisoners that year alone, including a child, and a man accused of \u201csorcery\u201d.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the Prince of Wales\u2019 sixth meeting with an Arab monarch in 2011, Charles welcomed Bahrain\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alamy.com\/britains-prince-charles-r-walks-with-bahrains-king-hamad-bin-isa-al-khalifa-at-clarence-house-in-london-december-13-2011-reutersfinbarr-oreilly-britain-tags-politics-royals-entertainment-image378299354.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">King Hamad<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to Clarence House in mid-December. Bahrain had faced the most significant popular opposition in the Gulf that <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report\/2012\/country-chapters\/bahrain\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">year<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and administered the most repression.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More than 40 people were killed, hundreds of public sector workers were sacked for supporting the protests and thousands of activists were arrested by the regime. The leaders of the pro-democracy movement were sentenced to life imprisonment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an attempt to placate some international concern, King Hamad set up a commission to investigate allegations of ill treatment. His meeting with Prince Charles came weeks after the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-middle-east-15861353\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">commission<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> had released its report, which recorded <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-middle-east-15861353\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">559 allegations of torture<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>2012: Horses over human rights<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles did not travel to the Middle East the next year, but instead held six meetings with Arab royals when they visited London. A high level visit came on 14 June 2012, when Oman\u2019s ruler Sultan Qaboos called on Charles and Camilla at Clarence House.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The day before, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2012\/06\/13\/oman-assault-freedom-speech\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Human Rights Watch<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> had spoken out against Oman\u2019s \u201csweeping crackdown on political activists and protesters arrested solely for exercising their rights to freedom of speech and assembly\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qaboos, one of Britain\u2019s oldest allies in the Middle East, had eliminated dissent, running one of the most closed countries in the region where political parties are banned and \u201cinsulting the Sultan\u201d is a criminal offence.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the Arab Spring erupted in early 2011, protesters staged sit-ins across Oman\u2019s major cities to demand reform and condemn corruption. Qaboos responded with force, sending in police and soldiers who shot dead several protesters and arrested 800 in one city alone.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following year, around the time Qaboos was meeting Charles in London, activist Khalfan al-Badwawi tried to expose how the Sultan was spending public funds. He held a protest in the capital, Muscat, to highlight how Qaboos had recently <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/expressyourself\/317847\/Secrets-of-the-Queen-s-pageant\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">transported 110 horses<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> inside <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2016\/05\/05\/the-queens-desert-cavalry-jets-to-windsor-900-horses-a-10-man-ho\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">two specially modified Boeing 777 jets<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There, Omani cavalry displayed a 10-man pyramid on horseback while other riders performed orchestral music in celebration of Queen Elizabeth\u2019s Diamond Jubilee \u2013 a grand <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131203114026\/http:\/\/www.diamond-jubilee-pageant.com\/programme.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">party<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for her 60th year on the throne \u2013 inside the grounds of Windsor Castle.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Holding <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/novaramedia.com\/2018\/11\/09\/what-could-a-corbyn-government-mean-for-britains-foreign-policy-in-oman\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">placards<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> asking \u2018who\u2019s important \u2013 horses or humans?\u2019, al-Badwawi\u2019s protest was surrounded by thousands of riot police and he was later arrested, tortured and charged with \u201cinsulting the sultan\u201d.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-845127\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Declassified-Royals2Charles-inset-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-845127\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Khalfan al-Badwawi (centre, front row) protests against corruption in Oman on 29 May 2012. (Photo: Habiba Al-Hinai)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Sultan Qaboos was in London seeing Charles and the Queen, al-Badwawi was being held in solitary confinement in Oman, subjected to constant sleep deprivation and repeated interrogation over the course of 32 days.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following month, July 2012, Charles welcomed the Emir of Kuwait to England, driving with him in a \u201ccarriage procession to Windsor Castle\u201d. A state banquet was thrown, involving most of the UK royal family.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The visit came after months of crackdowns in Kuwait, such as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2012\/03\/16\/kuwait-lift-newspaper-suspension\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">suspension<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Al Dar<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> newspaper and the sentencing of blogger Hamad al-Naqi to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pen.org\/rapid-action\/blogger-hamad-al-naqi-imprisoned\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10 years imprisonment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for tweets that allegedly insulted the rulers of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia plus the Prophet Muhammad.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles saw out 2012 with two quick visits from other Arab royals. On 12 December, he had a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=jordan&amp;mrf=&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F01%2F2012&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=31%2F12%2F2012&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">meeting<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with King Abdullah of Jordan, which was held weeks after the suspicious death of a 20-year-old limousine driver <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2011\/12\/20\/letter-prime-minister-urging-inquiry-death-custody\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Najm al-Din \u2018Azayiza<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the hands of Jordanian military intelligence officers.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The death followed a year of repression in Jordan, with the editor of the Gerasanews website, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/rsf.org\/en\/news\/journalist-freed-bail-after-21-days-custody-still-faces-prosecution\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jamal al-Muhtasab<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, spending weeks in detention after military prosecutors charged him with \u201csubverting the system of government\u201d.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>2013: Celebrating the Saudi national guard<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amidst the ongoing repression in the Middle East, 2013 saw Charles and Camilla holding 15 meetings with four Arab monarchies in March alone.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They began on 11 March with a trip to Jordan for sessions with King Abdullah, his wife and various princes and princesses. Charles and Camilla then proceeded to Qatar to meet the Emir\u2019s wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, and the prime minister HBJ.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The couple then flew to Riyadh military air base, arriving on 15 March 2013, five days after Saudi authorities had sentenced leading rights activists Dr Mohammed al-Qahtani and Dr Abdullah al-Hamid to 10 and 11 years in prison respectively.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report\/2014\/country-chapters\/saudi-arabia\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Human Rights Watch<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the men were convicted on charges of \u201cbreaking allegiance with the ruler,\u201d and \u201csetting up an unlicensed organization\u201d \u2013 a reference to their advocacy group, the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, which was forced to close.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles and Camilla visited the headquarters of the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the British Military Mission \u2013 a highly secretive <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymaverick.co.za\/article\/2019-10-28-the-uks-secret-military-unit-that-answers-to-saudi-arabian-commanders\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">programme<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in which UK army officers are embedded in the SANG, a notorious internal security unit that played a key role in suppressing Arab Spring activists in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/publications.parliament.uk\/pa\/cm201314\/cmselect\/cmfaff\/writev\/humanrights\/hr03.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Campaign Against Arms Trade<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Saudi visit came while British arms giant BAE Systems was trying to agree on a price for selling more Typhoon fighter jets to the Kingdom, at a time when Britain\u2019s Serious Fraud Office was investigating alleged corruption on a SANG communications contract with another UK arms dealer.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To conclude their March 2013 tour of the Middle East, the couple touched down in Oman, where they were greeted by the country\u2019s unelected deputy prime minister, Sayyid Fahad bin Mahmood Al Said, before joining Sultan Qaboos for dinner at his Bait al Baraka Palace in Seeb.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.princeofwales.gov.uk\/ourview\/remarks-simon-martin-private-secretary-prince-wales-and-duchess-cornwall-foreign\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clarence House<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the trip was designed to \u201cpromote Britain\u2019s diplomatic, commercial interests\u201d in Oman, which at that time mainly concerned a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/typhoon-for-oman\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a32.5-billion<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> deal to buy 12 Typhoon and eight Hawk jets from BAE Systems.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Omani activist Khalfan al-Badwawi tried to organise a protest against the latest visit from Prince Charles. However, masked Omani special forces swooped on his car in a high-speed manoeuvre and bundled him into solitary confinement for five days in mid-March 2013.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oman\u2019s domestic security force subjected him to psychological<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gc4hr.org\/report\/view\/20\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">torture<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> techniques and he was only released once Prince Charles had left the country.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In May 2013, Prince Charles welcomed the unelected president of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa, to Clarence House following his visit to Downing Street. The UAE state visit came at a time when BAE Systems <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pressenza.com\/2013\/04\/uae-state-visit-continues-arms-sales-drive-to-repressive-gulf-regime\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">wanted to sell<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the regime 60 Typhoon jets for around \u00a33-billion, during increased repression in the Emirates.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From March to July 2013, the UAE held a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report\/2014\/country-chapters\/united-arab-emirates\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mass trial<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of 94 activists accused of ties to al-Islah, an offshoot of Egypt\u2019s then ruling Muslim Brotherhood party which was advocating for political reform in the Emirates. The case eventually saw 69 of the men convicted for attempting to overthrow the government, with sentences of up to 10 years imprisonment.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In late 2013, Charles met Bahrain\u2019s Crown Prince Salman and Jordan\u2019s King Abdullah, this time at Clarence House. Since Charles\u2019 visit to Jordan earlier in 2013, the authorities had stepped up attacks on press freedom by blocking over 260 news websites.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In September 2013, in a sign of solidarity among the Middle Eastern monarchies, Jordanian police arrested the publisher and editor of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report\/2014\/country-chapters\/jordan\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jafra News<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> website for posting a video critical of Qatar\u2019s royal family.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>2014: Saudi sword dance<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following year provided another opportunity for Prince Charles to perform his role as a de facto salesman for BAE Systems, this time in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. On 17 February, Charles flew from RAF Brize Norton to Riyadh, in what was reported to be his 10th trip to the kingdom in his lifetime.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The human rights situation had deteriorated since his last visit in 2013, with international concern focusing on the sentencing of liberal blogger Raif Badawi to six years in prison and 600 lashes for \u201cinsulting Islam\u201d (later increased to 10 years and 1,000 lashes).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles\u2019 team was met by Saudi prince Miteb bin Abdullah Al Saud, commander of the notorious national guard, and he later met seven other princes, including Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, who headed Saudi intelligence during the Arab Spring until 2012.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles also met Abdulaziz bin Abdullah, the deputy foreign minister who reportedly helped set up a \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/syria-turkey-rebels\/exclusive-secret-turkish-nerve-centre-leads-aid-to-syria-rebels-idINDEE86Q05J20120727?edition-redirect=uk\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nerve centre<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d in Turkey to try to topple Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad, with Qatari support. It would soon emerge that Saudi aid for Syrian rebels was directed towards fundamentalist groups such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/middle-east\/syria-crisis-turkey-and-saudi-arabia-shock-western-countries-supporting-anti-assad-jihadists-10242747.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jabhat al-Nusra<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, an Al Qaeda affiliate.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is not known what was said at these meetings, because Prince Charles is exempt from Britain\u2019s freedom of information laws. However the following day BAE Systems <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/defence-and-security-blog\/2014\/feb\/24\/arms-gulf-prince-charles\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">announced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it had finalised a multi-billion pound weapons sale to Saudi Arabia, for the supply of Typhoon fighter jets.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After years of delay, the Saudis may have been persuaded to sign after Charles joined them in a traditional <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/av\/uk-26253066\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sword dance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, adorned in Arab dress. The incident drew sharp criticism from campaigners, given that Saudi Arabia had executed at least <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org.uk\/death-penalty-2013-report-use-statistics-executions\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">79<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> people the previous year, often by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2013\/05\/saudi-arabia-five-beheaded-and-crucified-amid-disturbing-rise-in-executions\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">beheading<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Travelling on to Doha, Charles met Qatar\u2019s foreign minister before making whistle-stop calls in the UAE and Bahrain to conclude his <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=&amp;mrf=3&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=17%2F02%2F2014&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=21%2F02%2F2014&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tour<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Gulf. The combined costs of this four-stop tour, including the reconnaissance trip, came to almost a quarter of a million pounds.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although Charles had no problem entering the UAE, where he met the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, a month earlier the Emirates had <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report\/2015\/country-chapters\/united-arab-emirates\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">denied entry<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to a member of Human Rights Watch and put two other staff members on a travel blacklist as \u201cdangerous to public security\u201d.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>2015: Half mast affair<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Throughout 2015, as the human rights situation in the Middle East worsened, Charles continued to court Arab royals.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In January, he and David Cameron rushed to Riyadh, spending \u00a3101,792 on a specially chartered flight, to offer <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.itv.com\/news\/update\/2015-01-23\/prince-charles-to-pay-condolences-to-king-abdullah-in-saudi-arabia\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">condolences<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the Saudi ruling family for the death of King Abdullah, while flags were flown at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/half-masting-of-flags-following-the-death-of-king-abdullah-bin-abdulaziz-king-of-saudi-arabia\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">half mast<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on UK government buildings.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such symbolic acts sparked criticism from some in the UK, especially as blogger Raif Badawi had recently received the first 50 of his lashings.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles\u2019s subsequent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=&amp;mrf=3&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=6%2F02%2F2015&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=14%2F02%2F2015&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tour<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of five Middle Eastern monarchies began on 7 February, when he took a specially chartered flight from RAF Brize Norton with his military aide, Lt Col Bevan and veteran diplomat <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/people\/jamie-bowden\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jamie Bowden<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who was UK ambassador to Oman and Bahrain during the Arab Spring.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After two nights in Jordan, Charles flew on to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=&amp;mrf=3&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=6%2F02%2F2015&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=14%2F02%2F2015&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kuwait<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and then to Riyadh for meetings with five senior members of the Saudi royal family. Despite Charles highlighting human rights and concern for Islamic heritage during the visit, the next month Saudi Arabia unleashed Operation Decisive Storm, a devastating air attack on its poorer neighbour, Yemen.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It would entail what a UN expert <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/yemen-diplomacy-back-what-next-opinion-1570291\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">called<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cthe ruthless destruction of one of the oldest cities in the world\u201d, as Yemen\u2019s historic capital Sana\u2019a was blitzed. Many of the bombs in the war would be dropped from BAE Systems-made jets, which Charles had helped to sell to Saudi Arabia.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles finished his Gulf tour with a day trip to Qatar and the UAE which would soon join the Saudi-led airstrikes. There he met Qatar\u2019s Emir and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Weeks earlier, on 25 November 2014, the Emirates sentenced an activist, Osama al-Najjar, to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report\/2015\/country-chapters\/united-arab-emirates\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">three years<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in prison for charges such as \u201cdamaging the reputation of UAE institutions\u201d.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles returned to the UK on 12 February 2015, but less than two weeks later he had another meeting with the Saudi royal family, this time in London where he had dinner with the deputy Crown Prince at Clarence House. This flurry of activity meant that Charles clocked up 19 meetings with Arab royals in the first two months of 2015.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The next and final encounter for 2015 came in November on the sidelines of UN climate talks in Paris, where he met Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain. When the country\u2019s most prominent human rights activist, Nabeel Rajab, took to Twitter to denounce Bahrain\u2019s role in the Yemen war, he was arrested.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was part of a major crackdown on civil liberties in Bahrain that year, which included sentencing the secretary general of the country\u2019s largest opposition party to four years in prison. The number of arrests since the Arab Spring, and the ongoing torture of detainees, led to an uprising in Jau prison, where political inmates were being held.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their protest was put down with teargas and birdshot, allegedly followed by further torture and humiliation, including making detainees strip down to their underwear and shout chants in support of Bahrain\u2019s king.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>2016: Reaping the whirlwind<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By 2016, opposition movements in many Gulf monarchies lay in ruins. Five years of systematic counter-revolution since the Arab Spring had seen a generation of intellectuals and activists taken off the streets or social media, put in prison, tortured or simply killed.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Britain\u2019s next king indulged in a further 24 meetings with Arab royals in 2016, kicking off with an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=Oman&amp;mrf=3&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F01%2F2016&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=01%2F02%2F2016&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">event<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the Anglo-Omani society in London on 27 January, attended by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/admediaphoto.photoshelter.com\/gallery-image\/The-Anglo-Omani-Society-Reception\/G0000NyqaIl3vO5o\/I0000tfZCkTvQnuk\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq Al Said<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Oman\u2019s third in line to the throne.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By that time Charles\u2019 staff included Major Matt Wright, who served as his assistant equerry. Wright would go on to be a commander in the 90-strong team of British forces on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymaverick.co.za\/article\/2020-07-20-revealed-how-the-british-military-supplies-mercenary-forces-to-a-gulf-dictatorship\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">loan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the Sultan of Oman.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prince Charles \u201cexpressed his joy\u201d at being invited to the Anglo-Omani society event and described the autocratic Sultan of Oman as \u201cfar-sighted\u201d. Later that day, Charles reportedly received Sayyid Haitham, Oman\u2019s culture minister who would soon become Sultan.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three weeks earlier, a British judge had granted asylum to Omani dissident Khalfan al-Badwawi, ruling that \u201che would be at real risk on return to Oman because of his political opinion\u201d. The judge accepted expert evidence that al-Badwawi was \u201cone of the most vocal and public advocates for democratic reforms in Oman\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Days after the Anglo-Oman society event, Charles was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=&amp;mrf=3&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=4%2F02%2F2016&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=4%2F02%2F2016&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">visited<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Clarence House by the Emir of Kuwait and the King of Jordan. Between their visits, he had time to visit the MI6 headquarters in central London, in his role as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gchq.gov.uk\/news\/hrh-the-prince-of-wales-pays-centenary-visit-to-gchq\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">patron<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the UK\u2019s intelligence agencies.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Planning for Charles\u2019 next trip to the Gulf started in September 2016, when palace records show the Prince\u2019s staff spent close to \u00a320,000 flying to Bahrain and Oman on a \u201creconnaissance tour\u201d. On 4 November 2016, Charles and Camilla flew out to the region on a specially chartered flight from RAF Brize Norton, costing the public purse an additional \u00a372,756.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Upon landing in Oman\u2019s capital, Muscat, they were met by Sayyid Haitham and had dinner with Sultan Qaboos. True to form, Charles took part in a traditional <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-37879658\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sword dance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as he had done in Saudi Arabia.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A statement issued by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/prince-wales-and-duchess-cornwall-begin-their-royal-tour-oman\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clarence House<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> mentioned the trip\u2019s political aims, which included promoting \u201cthe UK&#8217;s partnership in the region in key areas such as&#8230; military cooperation\u201d. Towards the end of their trip, Charles met British troops on loan to the Sultan, which numbered around <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/questions-statements.parliament.uk\/written-questions\/detail\/2015-10-12\/11403\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">195<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including senior officers.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The visit came after months of attacks on freedom of speech in Oman. On 8 February 2016, a former Omani diplomat, Hassan al-Basham, had been sentenced to three years in prison on charges that included insulting the Sultan on social media \u2013 he would later <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gc4hr.org\/news\/view\/1843\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">die in prison<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the summer of 2016, three senior staff at the country\u2019s only independent newspaper, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2016\/08\/13\/oman-newspaper-shuttered-editor-held\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Azamn<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, had been arrested and in August the paper was ordered to close by the Internal Security Service.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Immediately after touring Oman, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall arrived in the UAE, on 6 November 2016. During their visit, they met senior figures from the ruling families, including the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the UAE\u2019s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as well as his wife, the Jordanian Princess Haya.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other meetings <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=Emirates&amp;mrf=&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F11%2F2016&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F12%2F2016&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">included<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE military, a point missed from the palace\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/prince-wales-and-duchess-cornwall-visit-united-arab-emirates\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">press release<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Meetings with the UAE\u2019s military at this time were particularly sensitive given its offensive role in Yemen, where it was using mercenaries to fight the ground war and holding prisoners in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/yemen-international-law-archive-only-on-ap-prisons-4925f7f0fa654853bd6f2f57174179fe\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">black sites<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where torture was rife.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Human Rights Watch raised <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2016\/11\/04\/royal-visit-uae-will-miss-out-british-prisoners\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">concerns<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about Charles\u2019 trip to the UAE, highlighting that 43 British citizens had complained of torture or ill treatment while being detained over the previous five years. One man, Lee Bradley Brown, had died in solitary confinement in a Dubai police cell, after officers allegedly beat him.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The final stop on Charles and Camilla\u2019s Gulf tour would prove to be the most controversial, when the couple stopped off in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=bahrain&amp;mrf=&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F11%2F2016&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F12%2F2016&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bahrain<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on 8 November 2016. It came just weeks after Bahraini exiles in London protested near King Hamad\u2019s limousine as he pulled into Downing Street.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In retaliation for that protest, Bahraini authorities targeted the family of one refugee, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/middle-east\/prince-charles-bahrain-theresa-may-sayed-alwadaei-torture-human-rights-a7405286.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sayed Alwadaei<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, detaining and violently interrogating his wife Duaa as she tried to leave Bahrain for London with their 19-month-old son. It was a signal that lawful protest in Britain would result in retribution in Bahrain.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After being reunited with his wife and son in London, Alwadaei told the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/middle-east\/prince-charles-bahrain-theresa-may-sayed-alwadaei-torture-human-rights-a7405286.html\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Independent<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cPrince Charles\u2019 visit is giving the Bahrain authorities a green light to continue their oppression and using him to whitewash human rights abuses.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles and Camilla went ahead with their trip to Bahrain, where they were greeted upon arrival by the Crown Prince, before dining with King Hamad and his wife Sabika at Al Roudha Palace.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Almost immediately after the trip, Bahraini authorities arrested an opposition politician, Ebrahim Sharif, who had spoken to a US news agency about the royal visit. Sharif had told the Associated Press that Charles\u2019 visit to Bahrain could \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/1ffcfa4e5612445d972a82038c05092e\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">whitewash<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d the regime\u2019s crackdown on dissent.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prosecutors charged him with \u201copenly inciting hatred of the political system in Bahrain\u201d although, due to an international outcry, charges were <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/greenslade\/2016\/nov\/24\/bahrain-drops-charges-against-politician-held-after-prince-charles-visit\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dropped<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> within a fortnight.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>2017: Typhoons, horses and a firing squad<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After an intense series of meetings with Arab royals in 2016, for the rest of the decade Charles confined himself to just eight more meetings with Gulf monarchies, as younger members of the royal family took on more of the engagements.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In March 2017, Charles received Qatar\u2019s unelected prime minister, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=Qatar&amp;mrf=3&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F01%2F2017&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F01%2F2018&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sheikh Abdullah<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a member of the royal family and former interior minister. Sheikh Abdullah also met prime minister <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/pm-meeting-with-the-prime-minister-of-qatar-27-march-2017--2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Theresa May<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Downing Street where the pair \u201cagreed on the importance of our security co-operation, and committed to strengthening our collaboration on cyber security and defence\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qatar was then a member of the Saudi-led coalition bombing Yemen, a military campaign that was creating the world\u2019s worst humanitarian crisis. Later in 2017, Qatar agreed to buy 24 Typhoon jets from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/uk-bae-systems-qatar-idUKKCN1LY261\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BAE Systems<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for \u00a35-billion.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Declassified-Royals2Charles-inset-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-845142\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following the Qatari visit, Charles again met Bahrain\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=Bahrain&amp;mrf=3&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F05%2F2017&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F06%2F2017&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crown Prince<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Salman in mid-May 2017 at Clarence House. It came days after Salman\u2019s father, King Hamad, had seen Charles\u2019 mother and younger brother Andrew at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bahraini exiles protested at the event, resulting in their family members being <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/uk-bahrain-rights\/three-activists-held-in-bahrain-after-uk-horse-show-protest-idUKKBN1890S1?edition-redirect=uk\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">arrested<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at home \u2013the sixth time since the Arab Spring that Gulf activists had been punished specifically for speaking out against Royal visits to or from the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The arrests were part of a pattern of mounting repression in Bahrain which saw three political prisoners <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/jan\/15\/bahrain-three-men-death-sentence-shia-muslims-gulf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">executed<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by firing squad one night in January 2017. It was Bahrain\u2019s first use of the death penalty since 2010, and the men had allegedly been tortured into making false confessions.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UN special rapporteur, Dr Agnes Callamard, described them as \u201cextrajudicial killings\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Days after Charles met the Crown Prince on 16 May 2017, Bahrain <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/world-report\/2018\/country-chapters\/bahrain\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">banned<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the main secular opposition party, the National Democratic Action Society, and shut down the country\u2019s only independent newspaper, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Al Wasat<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>2018: Dining with executioners<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The following year, in March 2018, Charles and his son William held a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=Saudi&amp;mrf=3&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F01%2F2018&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F01%2F2019&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dinner<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Clarence House for Saudi Arabia\u2019s new Crown Prince, the young Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS). It was part of a major Foreign Office public relations operation to portray MBS as a reformer, in an effort to improve Riyadh\u2019s reputation after high profile controversies.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Britain\u2019s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Simon Collis, claimed the speed of change in Saudi Arabia was \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3ex8xIw5IBA\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">actually quite breathtaking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d, in a video specially filmed to promote the MBS visit. Boris Johnson, then foreign secretary, wrote a gushing column in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/speeches\/saudi-reformer-mohammed-bin-salman-deserves-our-support-article-by-boris-johnson\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Times<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, titled \u201cSaudi reformer Mohammed bin Salman deserves our support\u201d.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Days after the visit, it emerged that BAE had edged <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2018\/mar\/09\/uk-typhoon-jet-deal-saudi-arabia-bae-systems\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">closer<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to sealing a multi-billion pound arms deal with Saudi Arabia to sell another 48 Typhoons, to add to Riyadh\u2019s existing fleet of Typhoons that was bombing Yemen.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the efforts of Whitehall and the House of Windsor to cheerlead for MBS may have persuaded some people, the illusion was shattered in October 2018, when Saudi authorities murdered and dismembered <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Washington Post<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> journalist Jamal Khashoggi at their consulate in Turkey.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>2019 and 2020: Funerals but not farewells<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles managed only one encounter with a Gulf monarchy the following year, perhaps dissuaded by the Khashoggi murder. He met Kuwait\u2019s defence minister and deputy prime minister <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=Kuwait&amp;mrf=3&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F01%2F2019&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F01%2F2020&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sheikh Nasser<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at Dumfries House, one of Charles\u2019 Scottish estates, in May 2019.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then in January 2020, British foreign policy in the Gulf suffered a major loss with the death of Sultan Qaboos of Oman, the longest-serving ruler in the Middle East, who had been in power for 50 years.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Charles immediately flew to Muscat to offer his condolences and usher in the Sultan\u2019s unelected successor, Haitham, the former culture minister. Charles\u2019 specially chartered flight from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=oman&amp;mrf=3&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=11%2F01%2F2020&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=12%2F01%2F2020&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aberdeen<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to Muscat cost the public \u00a3210,345 for the one-night trip.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prime minister Boris Johnson also flew out with ten officials to pay his respects, costing a further <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/905088\/Rt-Hon-Boris-Johnson-MP-overseas-travel-January-to-March-2020.csv\/preview\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a3143,276<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Meanwhile, defence secretary Ben Wallace went on a scheduled flight which cost just <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/906773\/Ministers_Overseas_Travel_Q4_Jan-Mar_20_Transparency_Return.csv\/preview\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a34,697<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Haitham\u2019s position as heir to the throne was only publicly revealed upon the death of Qaboos, although Charles had already met him on several previous occasions. Those earlier encounters suggest Clarence House may have been privy to Oman\u2019s secret line of succession.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large wp-image-1674\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Prince-Charles-with-Haitham-1024x732.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1674\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Prince Charles offers his condolences to Oman&#8217;s Sultan Haitham on the death of his uncle, Qaboos, in January 2020. His flights to Oman cost the UK public \u00a3210,000. (Photo: ONA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qaboos had done nothing in his final years to prepare for a transition to democracy. He had focused on extinguishing Oman\u2019s last site of resistance, cracking down on the pro-autonomy movement in Musandam, the peninsula on Oman\u2019s northernmost tip.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Six men from Musandam had been sentenced to life imprisonment in Oman in 2016 on what Amnesty International called \u201cvague grounds of national security\u201d. The human rights group believes the men were engaged in \u201cpeaceful activism and campaigns for the rights of Musandam\u2019s residents\u201d, who were suffering from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freetheshuhuh6.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">house demolitions<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The coronavirus pandemic would prevent much international travel for the rest of 2020, but Charles did manage to fit in one more meeting with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bna.bh\/en\/news?cms=q8FmFJgiscL2fwIzON1%2BDjX0MlBsGVwVp6qK5DlxuA0%3D\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bahrain\u2019s monarchy<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in early March, when the King\u2019s son and national security adviser, Major General Nasser, visited Clarence House.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nasser is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-29521420\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">accused<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of involvement in the torture of activists during the Arab Spring. According to Bahrain\u2019s state media agency, during their meeting Nasser \u201clauded [the] strategic partnership binding the Kingdom of Bahrain and the friendly United Kingdom\u201d, and Charles wished \u201cthe Kingdom of Bahrain further progress and prosperity\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then in October 2020, Charles flew to Kuwait for the Emir\u2019s funeral. The cost of the trip is yet to be published by Buckingham Palace, which flew its union flag at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gertsroyals\/status\/1311273174605201410?lang=en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">half mast<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to commemorate the Emir\u2019s passing.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Photos from the trip show Prince Charles was accompanied by General Sir John Lorimer, Britain\u2019s outgoing senior army officer in the Middle East who maintained close military relations with the UK\u2019s autocratic Gulf allies.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most recent meeting between the House of Windsor and Arab royalty came in December 2020 when the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.royal.uk\/court-circular?text=Dhabi&amp;mrf=&amp;date%5Bmin%5D%5Bdate%5D=1%2F10%2F2020&amp;date%5Bmax%5D%5Bdate%5D=19%2F02%2F2021&amp;id=\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Mohammed bin Zayed, visited Charles and Boris Johnson in London.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The meetings took place despite mounting criticism from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2020\/12\/1079232\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UN Experts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about the conduct of Emirati forces fighting in Yemen, commenting: \u201cCivilians in Yemen are not starving; they are being starved by the parties to the conflict.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Foreign Office spokesman told <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Declassified<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cOfficial royal visits are undertaken by Members of the Royal Family at the request of the Government to support British interests around the globe.\u201d<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Clarence House spokesman told <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Declassified<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201cAll of The Prince of Wales\u2019s overseas visits are undertaken at the request of HMG and are organised by the Royal Visits Committee. The destinations are published in advance and the international media are invited to attend the visits in order to cover the engagements in detail.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He added: \u201cAll decisions relating to travel are made taking into account the time available, costs and the security of the travelling party. The costs are published annually as part of the Sovereign Grant Annual Review.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is Part Two of our investigation into the British royals. Read <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymaverick.co.za\/article\/2021-02-23-revealed-british-royals-met-tyrannical-middle-east-monarchies-over-200-times-since-arab-spring-erupted-10-years-ago\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Part One<\/span><\/i><\/a><i> <\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">here<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has held 95 meetings with eight repressive monarchies in the Middle East since the \u2018Arab Spring\u2019 protests of 2011 threatened their power. Charles has played a key role in promoting \u00a314.5-billion worth of UK arms exports to these regimes in the last decade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1671,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[234,18,4],"tags":[49,153,156,176,103,43],"coauthors":[186,183],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.4 (Yoast SEO v22.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has held 95 meetings with eight repressive monarchies in the Middle East since the \u2018Arab Spring\u2019 protests of 2011 threatened their power. Charles has played a key role in promoting \u00a314.5-billion worth of UK arms exports to these regimes in the last decade.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has held 95 meetings with eight repressive monarchies in the Middle East since the \u2018Arab Spring\u2019 protests of 2011 threatened their power. Charles has played a key role in promoting \u00a314.5-billion worth of UK arms exports to these regimes in the last decade.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Declassified Media Ltd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DeclassifiedUK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-24T06:36:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-26T12:37:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-470165475-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1840\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"PHIL MILLER, MARK CURTIS\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@pmillerinfo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@declassifiedUK\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"PHIL MILLER, MARK CURTIS\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"23 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"PHIL MILLER\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c7898ab68b3c44f4e53bbf7adc592369\"},\"headline\":\"Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-24T06:36:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-26T12:37:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/\"},\"wordCount\":5102,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-470165475-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bahrain\",\"Jordan\",\"Kuwait\",\"Morocco\",\"Qatar\",\"Saudi Arabia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Archive\",\"Middle East\",\"Royals\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2021\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/\",\"name\":\"Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-470165475-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-24T06:36:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-26T12:37:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has held 95 meetings with eight repressive monarchies in the Middle East since the \u2018Arab Spring\u2019 protests of 2011 threatened their power. Charles has played a key role in promoting \u00a314.5-billion worth of UK arms exports to these regimes in the last decade.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-470165475-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-470165475-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1840,\"caption\":\"Prince Charles dances with a sword at a festival in Saudi Arabia in 2014 (Photo: Fayez Nureldine \/ AFP via Getty)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/\",\"name\":\"Declassified Media Ltd\",\"description\":\"The Empire Never Died\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Declassified Media ltd\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cropped-cropped-cropped-logo600.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cropped-cropped-cropped-logo600.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Declassified Media ltd\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DeclassifiedUK\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/declassifiedUK\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/declassifieduk\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/DeclassifiedUK\",\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Declassified_UK\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c7898ab68b3c44f4e53bbf7adc592369\",\"name\":\"PHIL MILLER\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/417bca2a7b14da2649f471387cb5723a\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/phil-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/phil-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"PHIL MILLER\"},\"description\":\"Phil Miller is Declassified UK's chief reporter. He is the author of Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who Got Away With War Crimes. Follow him on Twitter at @pmillerinfo\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pmillerinfo\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/author\/phil-miller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes","description":"The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has held 95 meetings with eight repressive monarchies in the Middle East since the \u2018Arab Spring\u2019 protests of 2011 threatened their power. Charles has played a key role in promoting \u00a314.5-billion worth of UK arms exports to these regimes in the last decade.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes","og_description":"The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has held 95 meetings with eight repressive monarchies in the Middle East since the \u2018Arab Spring\u2019 protests of 2011 threatened their power. Charles has played a key role in promoting \u00a314.5-billion worth of UK arms exports to these regimes in the last decade.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/","og_site_name":"Declassified Media Ltd","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DeclassifiedUK","article_published_time":"2021-02-24T06:36:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-26T12:37:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1840,"url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-470165475-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"PHIL MILLER, MARK CURTIS","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@pmillerinfo","twitter_site":"@declassifiedUK","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"PHIL MILLER, MARK CURTIS","Est. reading time":"23 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/"},"author":{"name":"PHIL MILLER","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c7898ab68b3c44f4e53bbf7adc592369"},"headline":"Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes","datePublished":"2021-02-24T06:36:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-26T12:37:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/"},"wordCount":5102,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-470165475-scaled.jpg","keywords":["Bahrain","Jordan","Kuwait","Morocco","Qatar","Saudi Arabia"],"articleSection":["Archive","Middle East","Royals"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2021","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/","url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/","name":"Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-470165475-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-02-24T06:36:51+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-26T12:37:00+00:00","description":"The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, has held 95 meetings with eight repressive monarchies in the Middle East since the \u2018Arab Spring\u2019 protests of 2011 threatened their power. Charles has played a key role in promoting \u00a314.5-billion worth of UK arms exports to these regimes in the last decade.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-470165475-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/GettyImages-470165475-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1840,"caption":"Prince Charles dances with a sword at a festival in Saudi Arabia in 2014 (Photo: Fayez Nureldine \/ AFP via Getty)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/charles-of-arabia-how-britains-next-king-bolsters-autocratic-gulf-regimes-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Charles of Arabia: How Britain\u2019s next king bolsters autocratic Gulf regimes"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/","name":"Declassified Media Ltd","description":"The Empire Never Died","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#organization","name":"Declassified Media ltd","url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cropped-cropped-cropped-logo600.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cropped-cropped-cropped-logo600.png","width":600,"height":600,"caption":"Declassified Media ltd"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DeclassifiedUK","https:\/\/twitter.com\/declassifiedUK","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/declassifieduk","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/DeclassifiedUK","https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Declassified_UK"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/c7898ab68b3c44f4e53bbf7adc592369","name":"PHIL MILLER","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/417bca2a7b14da2649f471387cb5723a","url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/phil-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/phil-96x96.png","caption":"PHIL MILLER"},"description":"Phil Miller is Declassified UK's chief reporter. He is the author of Keenie Meenie: The British Mercenaries Who Got Away With War Crimes. Follow him on Twitter at @pmillerinfo","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/pmillerinfo"],"url":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/author\/phil-miller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=995"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12790,"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/995\/revisions\/12790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=995"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}