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.

       The Duke of Cambridge during his three-week attachment to the United Kingdom’s Security and Intelligence Agencies in 2019 (Kensington Palace/PA)

       (PA Media)

       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.