The Prince of Wales called Queen Elizabeth “one of life’s optimists” as he paid tribute to his late grandmother shortly after landing in the US Wednesday.
Prince William and his wife Princess Kate arrived in Boston for a three-day visit ahead of the glittering Earthshot Prize ceremony.
It’s the first time the couple has been in the US since their 2014 visit to NYC — and it’s the first time they’ve made an international trip since the death of the queen in September.
The newly named Prince and Princess of Wales were following in the footsteps of the queen and Prince Philip, who visited Boston City Hall back in 1976, and they looked touched as they were shown a display of photos from that Bicentennial year trip.
The Waleses arrived on a British Airways flight from London — just hours after a racism scandal concerning William’s godmother erupted back in the UK — and were greeted by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and first lady Lauren Baker.
They then made their way to Boston City Hall to meet Mayor Michelle Wu and President John F. Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline — now the ambassador to Australia. William, 40, told the crowd that he wanted to emulate his grandmother with the Earthshot Prize, which aims to promote creative solutions to climate change.
“Catherine and I are delighted to be back in the United States and are extremely grateful to Gov. Baker and the first lady of Massachusetts for their warm welcome into Boston,” he said.
“On this, our first overseas visit since the death of my grandmother, I would like to thank the people of Massachusetts and particularly of Boston for their many tributes paid to the late queen. She remembered her 1976 Bicentennial visit with great fondness.”
He added: “My grandmother was one of life’s optimists. And so am I. That is why last year we launched the Earthshot Prize with the ambition to create a truly global platform to inspire hope and urgent optimism as we look to save the future of our planet.”
The royals have a jam-packed trip. They’ll meet local organizations responding to rising sea levels in Boston and visit Somerville’s Greentown Labs, an incubator hub where local entrepreneurs are working on projects to combat climate change. They are also set to meet President Biden on Friday, if time permits, Page Six is told, although the White House and Kensington Palace will not yet comment on the trip.
William and Kate will also address larger issues, using their star power to highlight the work of Chelsea’s Roca Inc., which tries to improve the lives of young people affected by racism, poverty and incarceration.
The Princess of Wales, 40, will also visit Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, a leader on research into the long-term impact of early childhood experiences. The Harvard Center has a long relationship with the Royal Foundation and the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
The trip will culminate in the glitzy Earthshot awards ceremony on Friday, where Billie Eilish, Chloe x Halle, Ellie Goulding and Annie Lennox will perform as five winners will each scoop $1.2 million for their environmental projects. Actors Rami Malek, Catherine O’Hara, and Shailene Woodley are set to present prizes.
As Page Six previously revealed, the Waleses will not be meeting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who arrive in NYC next week to collect an honor from the Kennedy family. Harry and Markle, however, stole a bit of thunder on Wednesday by putting out a video to promote next year’s Invictus Awards.
