Prince of Wales and Omani Crown Prince promote Jewel of Arabia environmental project

Expedition along Omani coast is inspired by 1928 trek by British civil servant Bertram Thomas

Omani Crown Prince Theyazin bin Haitham and Prince William attend an event to launch the Jewel of Arabia expedition, at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Photo: Kensington Palace

The UK's Prince William and Oman's Crown Prince Theyazin bin Haitham on Monday promoted an expedition inspired by a British explorer's 1928 trek along the Omani coast. The project aims to raise awareness about efforts to preserve the sultanate's natural heritage.

The Royal Geographical Society’s Jewel of Arabia expedition aims to shine a spotlight on the journey by Bertram Thomas. The British civil servant served as Finance Minister and Wazir to Sultan Taimur Al Said, who ruled Muscat and Oman for seven years from 1925, and made several journeys into the desert.

His most famous was from 1930 to 1931, when he became the first European citizen to travel across the vast Empty Quarter, making his way from Salalah in southern Oman, through Saudi Arabia, to Doha in Qatar. He completed the feat in 57 days, despite the threat from tribes and difficulties finding water.

The Jewel of Arabia expedition is based on the trek he completed two years earlier. It was during that journey that he developed a system for travelling long distances – negotiating deals for camels and guides in each new tribal area he entered. He used that system to cross the Empty Quarter, also known as the Rub Al Khali.

The launch event on Monday aimed to highlight some of the work done in Oman to ensure a sustainable future. Organisers say the expedition aims to raise awareness among young people inside and outside the sultanate about the value of its natural heritage and biodiversity. It also aims to show the environmental challenges Oman faces.

Prince William, a patron of the expedition alongside Prince Theyazin, looked at old pictures and maps of the route taken by Thomas, during the launch event at the Royal Geographical Society in South Kensington, London. Prince Theyazin invited Prince William to join the project because of his passion for conservation, with the Prince of Wales learning about Oman's environmental protection efforts during a trip five years ago.

"I'm delighted to be joined by His Highness Theyazin bin Haitham and I just had the opportunity to look through some of the images from the RGS collection and they bring back all memories from my visit to Oman in 2019," Prince William said at the event.

"This expedition will not only highlight Oman's rich biodiversity and natural heritage, but it also symbolises the enduring friendship between our two countries. This was again demonstrated by the recent visit to the UK by his Majesty [King Charles III] the Sultan [Haitham] of Oman. The expedition will walk in the footsteps of British explorer Bertram Thomas, taking in the wonderful coastline of Oman. They will be able to see the beauty of Oman but also the damage done by climate change."

Prince William gave his support to the six explorers set to take part in the expedition. Mark Evans, 63, who will lead the project, said they planned to begin each day at 5am, walking their camels for the first hour and then riding them. The team plan to cover between 25km and 30km a day for the first two weeks, before extending that to between 35km and 45km a day.

"We will walk ourselves fit," Mr Evans said. "We're not trying to be the fastest, that's meaningless for me, it's all about slow travel, telling stories and using technology to put the spotlight on a country that is actually so naturally reserved, it never puts itself front of house.

"I just hope that they will use it to challenge their own stereotypes of the Middle East. The involvement of the two patrons really does put a super bright spotlight on the messaging of innovation and young people engaging with biodiversity and sustainability. It gives this incredible country its moment on stage, on a global platform. It would never ask for it because that's not what it does, but I think it's just lovely to be able to give them a helping hand in the journey that they're undertaking."