So Prince William Just Went Through Three Weeks of Spy Training

Alanna Lauren Greco
Photo credit: Chris Jackson - Getty Images
Photo credit: Chris Jackson - Getty Images

From Cosmopolitan

  • Prince William just spent three weeks learning about England's security and intelligence agencies.

  • Sadly, he hasn't given up his royal title for the life of a spy...yet.

While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are busy deflecting hurtful palace gossip/moving into their new home and Kate Middleton is dealing with rumors that she's feuding with one of her close friends, Prince William is out here living his best royal life and learning how to become a spy. And really, how could spy training not be one of the best perks of being a royal? (Meg, are you taking notes?)

William recently took three weeks to learn all about the UK's security and intelligence agencies. His mission included a week at M16 (aka where James Bond works-and yes, I know that James Bond isn't real, I'm just trying to give some context here!), a week at M15 (the agency that works to protect England from terrorism), and lastly a week at the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham (where intelligence specialists study potential threats).

The press release about Will's training explains why he took on the assignment rather darkly, stating, "with the threat level for international terrorism in the UK set at SEVERE or above for the last five years, the Duke was keen to see first-hand the extraordinary work that staff across the Security and Intelligence Agencies do."

The Duke of Cambridge has concluded a three week attachment to the UK’s Security and Intelligence Agencies (MI5, MI6 and @GCHQ). The attachment comes as the three security services continue their vital work both at home and abroad to keep our people and our allies safe. The Duke of Cambridge said: “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 unrivalled 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 Duke’s assignment began with a week at the Secret Intelligence Service – MI6 – who work secretly overseas, developing foreign contacts and gathering intelligence that helps to make the UK safer and more prosperous. They help the UK identify and exploit opportunities as well as navigate risks to its national security, military effectiveness and economy. His second week was spent at the Security Service – MI5 – where he saw their work to protect our national security, particularly against threats from terrorism. He finished his assignment 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, analyse and disrupt threats. With the threat level for international terrorism in the UK set at SEVERE or above for the last five years, the Duke was keen to see first-hand the extraordinary work that staff across the Security and Intelligence Agencies do - visit @GCHQ to find out more about the work of Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham.

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Apr 6, 2019 at 4:02pm PDT

Sadly, the type of training that Will went through wasn't disclosed, but I'm choosing to believe that it looked a little something like this:

Photo credit: Cosmopolitan
Photo credit: Cosmopolitan

On Will and Kate's official Instagram (it's @KensingtonRoyal, for those who don't know), William shared that his time with the British intelligence community was a "truly humbling experience," and the Head of Counter-Terrorism Operations said, “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."

Sounds pretty impressive if you ask me!

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