Prince William meets footballers, gamers during Saudi tour

Britain’s Prince William criss-crossed the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday, meeting footballers, playing video games and chatting with customers at a cafe, even as scandal over his disgraced uncle Andrew’s links to Jeffrey Epstein made headlines back home.

William, an avid environmentalist, was also set to later visit the historic city of AlUla, where he will learn about conservation efforts, according to Kensington Palace.

On his second day of a three-day tour of the Kingdom, the British royal visited an urban regeneration project, watched football drills with local girls’ youth squads and then dropped by an e-sports tournament, according to Saudi media.

During a visit to a sports complex in Riyadh, the prince showed off his own skills and netted two goals while visiting with the footballers, according to footage posted by the British broadcaster Sky News.

William arrived in Riyadh on Monday evening and was welcomed by Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

During their meeting, the Saudi crown prince took the heir to the British throne on a private tour of the At-Turaif UNESCO World Heritage Site at Diriyah, the first capital of the Saudi state.

Amicable ties have long existed between the Saudi and British royal families, and Saudi Arabia is seen as one of Britain’s most important partners in the Gulf.

The late Queen Elizabeth II hosted Saudi royals during four state visits, on a par with other key allies such as France and Germany.

The last senior royal to make an official visit to Riyadh was William’s father, King Charles III, when he was Prince of Wales in February 2014.

Ahead of William’s arrival in Riyadh, Kensington Palace broke years of silence over Andrew’s links to the late US convicted sex offender Epstein by saying William and his wife Catherine were “deeply concerned by the continuing revelations”.

The short statement, which did not directly reference ex-prince Andrew, was released as the monarchy comes under renewed pressure over accusations stemming from the tarnished royal’s ties to Epstein.

In the latest damaging allegations from the Epstein files published by the US Department of Justice, it emerged that Andrew may have passed potentially confidential reports to Epstein while serving as a UK trade envoy, a role he held between 2001 and 2011.