Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Get Messages from UK Royal Family

Key Points

• King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received messages from Britain’s King Charles III and Prince William, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
• The letters touched on relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
• The correspondence was received by Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji.
• Al-Khuraiji received the letters during a meeting with Stephen Charles Hitchen, the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
• The meeting took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh.
• During the meeting, both sides reviewed the state of relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency said.
• The two sides also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries across various sectors, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
• The exchange forms part of a long-standing pattern of royal and diplomatic correspondence between the Saudi leadership and the British monarchy.

Riyadh (Britain Today News) June 23, 2026 — Saudi Arabia’s leadership received letters from Britain’s King Charles III and Prince William concerning relations between the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday. The correspondence was addressed to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and was received by Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji during a meeting with the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Stephen Charles Hitchen, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the meeting between Al-Khuraiji and Hitchen provided an opportunity for the two sides to review the broader relationship between Riyadh and London, as well as to discuss avenues for deepening cooperation across a range of sectors. The development comes against the backdrop of a relationship between the two countries that has, in recent years, spanned trade, security, culture and high-level royal engagement, with successive exchanges of messages between the Saudi and British leaderships forming a regular feature of that relationship.

Who Delivered The Messages From King Charles And Prince William?

The letters from King Charles III and Prince William were not handed over in person by either royal but were instead conveyed through the United Kingdom’s diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Press Agency reported that it was Stephen Charles Hitchen, the UK’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who delivered the messages on behalf of the British monarch and the Prince of Wales during his meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji.

Ambassadorial channels of this kind are a customary means by which heads of state and senior royals exchange formal correspondence when an in-person royal visit is not the occasion for the message. In this instance, the Saudi Press Agency’s report made clear that the meeting was held specifically so the letters could be passed on to representatives of the Saudi leadership, with Al-Khuraiji accepting them on behalf of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Who Are King Salman And Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman?

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is the reigning monarch of Saudi Arabia, having ascended to the throne in 2015. His son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also serves as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia and is widely regarded as the Kingdom’s de facto leader, overseeing the country’s domestic reform agenda as well as its foreign policy direction. Both figures are regularly named as recipients of formal diplomatic correspondence from foreign heads of state and royal families, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s dual structure of monarchical and ministerial authority.

The Saudi Press Agency’s report on Tuesday named both King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the intended recipients of the letters from King Charles III and Prince William, underlining that the correspondence was directed at the top of the Saudi state rather than at a single office holder.

Who Is Waleed Al-Khuraiji, The Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister?

Waleed Al-Khuraiji serves as Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, a senior post within the Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that frequently places him at the centre of meetings with foreign ambassadors and visiting dignitaries in Riyadh. He is a career diplomat whose prior postings have included serving as Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Turkiye and as the Kingdom’s agriculture minister, alongside earlier roles representing Saudi Arabia at international bodies including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

It was Al-Khuraiji who received the letters from King Charles III and Prince William on Tuesday, acting in his capacity as deputy foreign minister during his meeting with Ambassador Hitchen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh. The Saudi Press Agency’s report positioned Al-Khuraiji as the formal point of contact through whom the correspondence passed before being relayed to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Who Is Stephen Charles Hitchen, The UK’s Ambassador To Saudi Arabia?

Stephen Charles Hitchen is the United Kingdom’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, representing the British government’s interests in the Kingdom and serving as the principal channel for diplomatic communication between London and Riyadh on the ground. As ambassador, Hitchen is routinely involved in high-level meetings with Saudi officials, including occasions where formal messages, invitations or correspondence from the British government or the Royal Family are conveyed to Saudi counterparts.

On Tuesday, it was Hitchen who met with Al-Khuraiji at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh to deliver the letters from King Charles III and Prince William, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The meeting reflects the ambassador’s role as the formal conduit for this kind of royal correspondence between the two governments.

What Did The Letters From King Charles And Prince William Address?

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the letters from King Charles III and Prince William concerned relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. The agency’s report did not detail the specific contents of the correspondence beyond confirming that the letters related to the bilateral relationship between the two countries, in keeping with the agency’s standard practice of reporting the dispatch and receipt of such messages without publishing their full text.

This style of reporting is consistent with previous instances in which the Saudi Press Agency has confirmed the exchange of messages between Saudi Arabia’s leadership and foreign heads of state or royal households, typically describing the broad subject matter — in this case, bilateral relations — without disclosing further detail on the specific language or requests contained within the letters.

What Was Discussed During The Meeting In Riyadh?

The Saudi Press Agency reported that, during the meeting between Al-Khuraiji and Hitchen, the two sides reviewed relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom and discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation across various sectors. The agency’s account indicates that the meeting extended beyond the simple handover of correspondence, providing both officials with an opportunity to take stock of the broader bilateral relationship.

The Saudi Press Agency’s wording — that the two sides “reviewed relations” and discussed

“ways to further strengthen cooperation across various sectors”

— points to a wide-ranging discussion rather than one confined to a single issue. The agency’s report did not specify which sectors were raised in the discussion, though the framing suggests the conversation touched on the broader landscape of Saudi-UK engagement.

When Did The Meeting Between Al-Khuraiji And Hitchen Take Place?

The meeting at which the letters were received took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh, with the Saudi Press Agency reporting the development on Tuesday. The timing places the exchange within the agency’s routine cycle of reporting diplomatic engagements involving senior Saudi officials and the ambassadors of partner nations based in the Kingdom.

The Saudi Press Agency is the official state news agency of Saudi Arabia and is the primary source through which such diplomatic exchanges, including the receipt of royal and presidential correspondence, are formally confirmed and communicated to the public.
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Why Does Diplomatic Correspondence Between Saudi Arabia And The UK Matter?

Exchanges of formal letters between Saudi Arabia’s leadership and the British monarchy form part of a wider pattern of engagement between the two countries, which maintain an extensive relationship spanning trade, investment, security cooperation and cultural exchange. Formal correspondence of the kind reported by the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday typically serves to reaffirm the tone and direction of bilateral ties, particularly when conveyed through ambassadorial channels rather than during set-piece state visits.

The relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom has in recent years included high-level visits and engagements involving members of the British Royal Family and senior UK government figures, alongside agreements covering trade and investment between the two countries. Messages of this nature, addressed to the Saudi King and Crown Prince and received by senior Saudi diplomats from the UK’s ambassador, are consistent with the established diplomatic practice through which the two governments maintain regular contact at the highest levels.

What Role Does The Saudi Press Agency Play In Reporting Such Exchanges?

The Saudi Press Agency, commonly referred to as SPA, is the official news agency of the Saudi government and the principal source for announcements concerning the activities of the King, the Crown Prince, and senior Saudi officials. It was the Saudi Press Agency that reported on Tuesday that King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had received the letters from King Charles III and Prince William, and it was the same agency that detailed the meeting between Al-Khuraiji and Hitchen at which the correspondence was handed over.

As the state agency responsible for confirming this category of diplomatic news, the Saudi Press Agency’s report stands as the official record of the exchange, noting both the identities of those involved and the general subject matter of the discussion that accompanied the delivery of the letters.

What Happens Next In Saudi-UK Relations?

The Saudi Press Agency’s report did not indicate any specific follow-up engagements scheduled as a direct result of Tuesday’s meeting. However, the receipt of correspondence from King Charles III and Prince William, and the accompanying discussion between Al-Khuraiji and Hitchen on strengthening cooperation across various sectors, sits within an ongoing and active diplomatic relationship between Riyadh and London that has continued to develop through ministerial visits, ambassadorial meetings and periodic exchanges of messages between the two countries’ leaderships.

Further developments in the relationship, including any responses from King Salman or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the letters received on Tuesday, would typically be expected to be communicated through subsequent Saudi Press Agency reports, in keeping with the agency’s established role as the official channel for such announcements.