Prince William’s private talks with Gordon Brown spark Sturgeon’s criticism

Nicola Sturgeon, a member of the Scottish Parliament has revealed in her memoir Frankly that her warm regard for the royal family came with one notable exception, a moment of deep frustration with Prince William. 

The former First Minister recalled feeling “aggrieved” after a meeting with the prince in the summer of 2021. 

At the time, their discussion had been cordial and notably free of politics, but Sturgeon later learned that William had gone on to host a private audience with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown at Holyrood Palace.

Brown had only recently launched his “Our Scottish Future” think tank, widely viewed as an anti-independence initiative. 

For many, the optics suggested the pair might have discussed strategies to reinforce the Union. 

Sturgeon wrote that the clandestine nature of the encounter “inevitably raised questions,” particularly given the sensitive constitutional debates dominating Scottish politics at the time.

When William’s office later issued a statement defending the meeting, Sturgeon was unconvinced. 

She described the justification as, “to put it mildly, disingenuous,” implying that the prince’s team had been less than transparent.

The revelation comes against the backdrop of renewed scrutiny of the royal family’s role in political affairs. 

Royal biographer Valentine Low’s recent book Power and the Palace claims Prince William was among those who encouraged the late Queen to intervene in the 2014 independence referendum, urging her to deliver her now famous remark that Scots should “think very carefully about the future.”