Tour overshadowed by Andrew? You bet. But the Royals will have to get used to it

As he drove down a steep sand dune in a corner of Saudi Arabia that very few people visit, Prince William was fulfilling the British Embassy’s wish that he use this visit to change people’s perceptions of this vast Gulf state.

But there were moments during his three-day dash around Saudi Arabia, when the diplomats and palace staff around William were wondering if anyone was listening.

They really did want to separate this official visit, arguably the most delicate one yet for the Prince of Wales, from the damaging fallout over the most recent claims surrounding William’s uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

The Prince, his aides said, was 100% focused on the job that the British government had asked him to do here.

Kensington Palace gambled on a pre-tour statement from William and Kate, effectively breaking their silence on the Andrew issue, to keep the damaging Epstein story away from the press coverage of this trip.

On that measure, you might argue, they failed spectacularly.

That was in part because the overwhelming response to their spokesperson’s statement (the couple were “deeply concerned” and their “thoughts” are with the victims) was centred around the phrase “is that really it?”, or another similar iteration.

And in any event, by the end of that day, palace HQ (Buckingham Palace) blew a hole in the plans of the more junior household by issuing a statement of its own to say that it stood ready to help any police inquiry, and it was for the King’s brother to answer the specific allegations himself.

Overshadowing the trip much? Absolutely, it did.

So when Prince William landed in Riyadh on Monday night, even his meeting and dinner with the controversial Saudi Crown Prince didn’t drown out the Andrew story. Which is saying something.

And it did much the same thing for most of Tuesday, as well.

So back to the sand dunes. Why was William now driving down a steep dune in a 4×4?

Part of what the prince was asked to do here was to help change the external perceptions of Saudi Arabia.

The country of 36 million people is undergoing a huge transformation and expanding at a phenomenal rate.

And as the ruthless Saudi monarchy, led by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, moves the economy away from a reliance on oil extraction, it needs to find other ways to make money.

For the Foreign Office in London, sending the United Kingdom’s heir to the throne to meet the Saudi Kingdom’s heir to the throne seemed like the perfect way to cement and improve diplomatic and economic relations.

And that was why, on Wednesday, Prince William moved the focus of his trip from Riyadh to Al Ula in the northwest corner, which became the country’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site for its stunning sandstone outcrops and living tombs.

There are some first-rate hotels being built in and around the stunning rock formations in this area, and Saudi Arabia is, we are told, now taking its heritage and conservation seriously.

Tourists are now very welcome in a country which didn’t previously want them, other than those visiting the two holiest cities in Islam: Mecca and Medina.

But Saudi Arabia is not doing it Dubai-style. Alcohol is still illegal, and there is no appetite to opt for a tourism model that includes plane loads of Westerners on package tours.

But as the world transitions to cleaner energy sources, Saudi Arabia desperately needs to create a more diverse economy.

It’s particularly important given 70% of its population is under 35 years old and 21 million people are of employment age.

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So in Al Ula, William was dispatched to a nature reserve where the Saudi’s are trying to nurture their natural landscapes and make them attractive to high-end tourists.

They even have a serious plan to reintroduce the near-extinct Arabian Leopard to this area, by re-growing vegetation for the gazelles to eat, and then increasing the gazelles for the leopards to eat.

It was why William got his hands dirty and did some planting himself, which one day will provide food for the aforementioned gazelles (he wisely rejected the offer of single-use plastic gloves to keep the royal hands clean!)

By this point, the energy in the Andrew story had slightly died down, but don’t let that fool anyone into thinking it is over.

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Claims about the then-Prince Andrew’s interactions and messages with Jeffrey Epstein may keep coming. The newly announced police review may or may not transform into a full criminal investigation. Andrew may or may not face questions.

And so for now, just as Prince William has found this week, the Royal Family will have to accept that its work will continue to be overshadowed by the man who was stripped of his titles and kicked off the Windsor estate.

Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has previously denied all allegations of wrongdoing. ITV News has been in contact with his office.

This is the Talking Royals – our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson.