Prince William has called for stronger protection against sexual harassment for women in the UK armed forces, saying the military is not consistently making personnel feel safe, respected and valued.
In an article produced while guest-editing Country Life, the Prince of Wales said he wanted to help make the military more welcoming, open and professional. BBC News reported that he had privately met women of different ranks from the Army, Royal Navy and RAF. They described inappropriate comments, rumours after women rejected sexual advances and late-night harassment in barracks.
The article cited a Ministry of Defence survey which, according to the BBC, found that 67% of service women encountered unwanted sexualised behaviour each year and that 30% had considered leaving the forces because of it. The supplied reporting does not give the survey's date, sample size or methodology, and the 30% figure is not a measure of actual departures. Even so, a reported link between this conduct and thoughts of leaving puts retention alongside safety and professional standards.
William's intervention does not create policy, and his article sets out no new reform programme or timetable. Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton said women's experience in the forces had not always met the expected standard and that change must continue.
That leaves the Ministry of Defence with a concrete accountability task. It should publish results that show whether its response is working: how quickly complaints are handled, what outcomes they receive, how protections against retaliation operate, and whether retention patterns improve. A call from the future head of the armed forces cannot substitute for command responsibility, but it raises the cost of treating a reported institutional problem as a broad promise of cultural change.
Sources
- BBC UK · Source date: 2026-11-10
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-10