The Duke of Cambridge made a secret visit to MI6 - just hours before Russia launched its attack on Ukraine.
Second in line to the throne William privately visited the Secret Intelligence Service, which deals with foreign intelligence and protects the UK from risks abroad, in London on Wednesday morning.
The visit was not publicised and appeared only afterwards in the Court Circular. It is understood the visit had been in William’s diary for a number of weeks.
In 2019, William spent three weeks working with MI5, MI6 and GCHQ to learn about how the UK's security and intelligence agencies worked.
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He said then: "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."
It is not known whether the duke met with the head of MI6 Richard Moore, known in Whitehall as C.
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William's visit to the intelligence service yesterday took place just hours before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine with explosions heard across major cities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said allies of Ukraine who try to interfere with his attack will "face consequences greater than any you have faced in history", in a chilling warning.
Within moments of his early morning address, Russian forces fired missiles at several Ukrainian cities and landed troops on its south coast.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky quickly announced Martial Law across all territories and he has called for all Ukrainians to fight the invaders.
Video shows cars of people fleeing Ukraine's capital Kyiv, as others sheltered in basements to the sound of distant explosions.
Boris Johnson said the Putin regime would be condemned to "pariah status" after unleashing a "tidal wave of violence" against Ukraine.
"Diplomatically, politically, economically – and eventually, militarily – this hideous and barbaric venture of Vladimir Putin must end in failure," the PM said.
He added: "I don’t believe that the Russian dictator will ever subdue the national feeling of the Ukrainians and their passionate belief that their country should be free and I say to the British people."
