Prince William teams up with MI6, GCHQ intelligence agencies for spy studies

LONDON -- The fictional James Bond may be Britain's most famous spy, but a real-life prince got a taste of what it takes to be a secret agent.

Kensington Palace officials have revealed that Prince William has spent three weeks working with Britain's secret services to understand how the country's security and intelligence services work. He spent time shadowing the foreign intelligence service MI6, worked with the domestic security service MI5, and finally with GCHQ, the government's secret listening service.
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"He wants to get even more understanding of how the intelligence agencies work before he is given the level of briefings that he will be given," royal family expert William Robert Jobson told ABC News of the prince's studies.

Officials said the prince completed his final day of his work placement at GCHQ on Saturday.

In a statement, William said it was a "humbling" experience working with "people from everyday backgrounds" who cannot tell their family and friends about their secret work and all the stresses they face.
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The head of counterterrorism at GCHQ, who remained anonymous, said the prince "worked exceptionally hard to embed himself in the team."

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.