Prince and Princess of Wales arrive in Boston to showcase youthful monarchy
Prince and Princess of Wales arrive in Boston to showcase youthful monarchy
LONDON -
The Prince and Princess of Wales embarked Wednesday on their first overseas trip since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, aiming to showcase the younger face of a monarchy that is tackling important issues like climate change as it attempts to remain relevant in a modern, multicultural Britain.
The three-day trip to Boston is focused on Prince William's splashy initiative to award millions of dollars to a new generation of environmental entrepreneurs who are developing everything from cleaner burning stoves to alternatives to leather. It will include visits to a program for at-risk youth, a sustainability lab and a tour of Boston's shoreline to see the city's effort to combat climate change.
It will culminate Friday in the awarding of the prince's signature Earthshot Prize, a global competition aimed at finding new ways to protect the planet and tackle climate change.
After their arrival, the beaming royal couple strolled onto a stage at City Hall Plaza -- William wearing a single-vent navy suit and Kate radiant in a Burberry dress and Alexander McQueen coat, and earrings by designer Shyla London -- amid tight security and a cheering crowd, many snapping photos and video.
Prince William told the crowd that one of President John F. Kennedy's speeches was the inspiration to hold the second Earthshot Prize in Boston.
"It was that moonshot speech that inspired me to launch the Earthshot Prize with the aim of doing the same for climate change as President Kennedy did for the space race. And where better to hold this year's awards ceremony than in President Kennedy's hometown," William said.
Later, the couple sat courtside for a Boston Celtics-Miami Heat game, joined by team managing partner Wyc Grousbeck, co-owner and president Steve Pagliuca and his wife, Judy, along with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Gov.-elect Maura Healey.
The royal couple was announced to a cheering Garden crowd during a timeout in the second quarter and briefly shown on the video screen. But a security official stepped in front of the camera, eliciting a chorus of boos.
The visit comes less than three months after the death of Queen Elizabeth, whose personal popularity dampened criticism of the crown during her 70-year reign. King Charles III, William's father, has made clear that his will be a slimmed-down monarchy, with less pomp and ceremony than its predecessors.
"I think this is less about saving the Earth and more about saving the royal family," said Boston University professor Arianne Chernock, an expert in modern British history. "To be honest, we've seen Charles as king and his first months in that position trying to feel his way, find his way towards being a more relevant, more modern monarch. And I think we see something similar happening with William and Kate."
Part of that reset involves reclaiming the hearts and minds of people in America, where William's younger brother, Prince Harry, and sister-in-law, Meghan, have dominated the media since moving to California in 2020. Harry and Meghan have criticized the royal family for alleged racism and insensitive treatment and built their own media profile by making films and podcasts for Netflix and Spotify.
The Netflix series "The Crown" has also resurrected some of the more troubled times of the House of Windsor, including the collapse of Charles' marriage to the late Princess Diana, William's mother, amid mutual allegations of infidelity.
But William and Kate are keen to tell a different story, about their work on environmental issues, mental health and early childhood education.
During a gala concert celebrating the queen's Platinum Jubilee in June, William delivered a speech highlighting his grandmother's and father's pioneering work on the environment, as images of jungles and oceans were projected on the walls of Buckingham Palace behind him.
Kate last week wrote an opinion piece on the need to improve the lives of young children that appeared in The Daily Telegraph, one of Britain's most influential newspapers, alongside a photo of the princess sitting cross-legged among a group of elementary school students.
William and Kate's last visit to the United States was in 2014, not long after their wedding. During that trip, the glamorous young couple were feted as they toured the eastern U.S. Eight years later, now in their 40s and with three young children, the prince and princess are finally having a return engagement.
On Wednesday, they were greeted at the airport by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker before heading to City Hall to meet Mayor Wu and Gov.-elect Healy ahead of a visit to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library and Museum. President Joe Biden planned to greet the couple later in the week.
City Hall, along with 15 other landmarks, was lit up in green to mark the kickoff of the Earthshot celebrations.
Andrew Warburton, who grew up in Bristol, England, praised their environmental work while waiting for the event. "They represent the future in that way," he said.
Pamela Spencer, a school teacher, waited with her two sisters in hopes of giving William and Kate a bouquet of flowers.
"They are following in the footsteps of her late majesty. I'm really here to show them they have a lot of support in New England," Spencer said.
On Thursday, William and Kate will visit Roca Inc., highlighting the racial equity group's efforts to improve the lives of young people by addressing issues such as poverty, incarceration and trauma from urban violence. They will also visit Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child, a leader in research into the long-term impact of early childhood experiences.
But throughout the trip, William's eye will be on the Earthshot Prize.
The ability of the royals to shine a light on the issue and fuse their fame with entertainers such as Billie Eilish, who is set to headline the awards show, is likely to make people pay attention.
Earthshot offers 1 million pounds (US$1.2 million) in prize money to each of the winners of five separate categories: nature protection, clean air, ocean revival, waste elimination and climate change. The winners and all 15 finalists also receive help in expanding their projects to meet global demand.
The winners are set to be announced Friday at Boston's MGM Music Hall as part of a glitzy show headlined by Eilish, Annie Lennox, Ellie Goulding and Chloe x Halle. The show will also feature videos narrated by naturalist David Attenborough and actor Cate Blanchett.
---
Kirka reported from London. Associated Press Sports Writer Kyle Hightower contributed to this report.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
After raising interest rates eight consecutive times, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told an audience in Quebec City on Tuesday that inflation is showing signs of 'turning the corner' and that the coming year 'will be different.'
Residents digging through a collapsed building in a northwest Syrian town discovered a crying infant whose mother appears to have given birth to her while buried underneath the rubble from this week's devastating earthquake, relatives and a doctor said Tuesday.
The British Columbia government has introduced legislation to make Sept. 30 a paid statutory holiday marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
Three men who disappeared after planning to rap at a Detroit party were killed by multiple gunshots, police said Tuesday, five days after their bodies were found in a vacant, rat-infested building.
Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands announced Tuesday that they plan to provide Ukraine with at least 100 refurbished Leopard 1 battle tanks, a pledge that comes as Kyiv anticipates a new Russian offensive around the anniversary of its invasion.
The British Columbia government has introduced legislation to make Sept. 30 a paid statutory holiday marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
Canadians now believe they need $1.7 million in savings in order to retire, a 20 per cent increase from 2020, according to a new BMO survey. The eye-watering figure is the largest sum since BMO first started surveying Canadians about their retirement expectations 13 years ago.
The Tsuut'ina Police Service, which serves a community west of Calgary, is expected to share more details about the case against former Dances With Wolves actor Nathan Chasing Horse, CTV News has learned.
Even before Monday's devastating earthquake, getting aid to all parts of war-battered Syria was fraught with daunting political and logistical challenges.
Jurors at Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial in South Carolina will get to hear evidence about what crime scene technicians discovered when they tested a rain jacket found three months after his wife and son were killed, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Using underwater drones, warships and inflatable vessels, the Navy is carrying out an extensive operation to gather all of the pieces of the massive Chinese spy balloon a U.S. fighter jet shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday.
It's unclear when evacuated residents might be able to return home to the area where officials released and burned toxic chemicals from the wreckage of a derailed train, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday.
Crowds gathered at wreckage sites throughout Turkiye, vapor showing the cold air as people breathed in and out in anticipation of reaching more survivors. Even those who had emerged or escaped collapse in Monday's magnitude 7.8 earthquake and its forceful aftershocks now had to sleep in cars, outside or in government shelters.
A Utah man who fatally shot his wife, her mother and their five kids before turning the gun on himself had done online searches about how loud different guns sound and whether neighbors could hear gunshots five days before the killings, new court records posted online show.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
The federal commission looking into the Liberal government's decision to use the Emergencies Act is being granted an extension to deliver its report to the cabinet and the public at the same time this month.
A U.S. survey found that people who had a personal connection to someone who became ill or died of COVID-19 were more likely to have received at least one shot of the vaccine compared to those who didn’t have any loved ones who had been impacted by the disease.
Canadian researchers are drawing attention to the increasing prevalence of 'a pathological pursuit of muscularity' among Canadian boys and young men, with a new study that found one in four were at risk of developing what's known as muscle dysmorphia.
Zoom is cutting about 1,300 jobs, or approximately 15% of its workforce. CEO Eric Yuan said in a blog post Tuesday that the company ramped up staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses became increasingly reliant on its service as people worked from home. Yuan said Zoom grew three times in size within 24 months to manage demand.
Pakistan lifted its ban on Wikipedia services before dawn Tuesday, after the country's media regulator blocked the site last week for not removing purportedly blasphemous content, claiming it hurts the sentiments of Muslims.
Google parent Alphabet is planning to launch a chatbot service and more artificial intelligence for its search engine as well as developers, making a riposte to Microsoft in a rivalry to lead a new wave of technology.
Three men who disappeared after planning to rap at a Detroit party were killed by multiple gunshots, police said Tuesday, five days after their bodies were found in a vacant, rat-infested building.
Tickets for the first concert of Beyonce's upcoming 'Renaissance' world tour sold out Tuesday, and concert management group Live Nation said a second concert in Stockholm was added because of the high demand.
Toronto native Samantha Bee is returning home to host the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards. Organizers for the ceremony celebrating the best in Canadian film and television said Bee will helm the pre-recorded broadcast to cap off Canadian Screen Week, during which there will be numerous in-person events for the first time in four years.
The number of insolvencies filed by Canadian businesses in 2022 was up 37.2 per cent compared with 2021. The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy says there were 3,402 business insolvencies last year, up from 2,480 in 2021.
A new poll finds one-third of Canadian households say their financial situation has worsened over the last year. According to a Leger poll commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies, 34 per cent of Canadian households say they're financially worse off compared with a year ago.
Zoom is cutting about 1,300 jobs, or approximately 15% of its workforce. CEO Eric Yuan said in a blog post Tuesday that the company ramped up staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses became increasingly reliant on its service as people worked from home. Yuan said Zoom grew three times in size within 24 months to manage demand.
She started throwing punches to get exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic, but now 17-year-old Talia Birch is gearing up to compete in the Canada Games as it opens up to female boxers for the first time
Ukrainian skier Ivan Kovbasnyuk, a two-time Olympian, can't train at home in the Carpathian Mountains because war in the country has damaged the power grid so severely that there's not enough energy to make the chairlifts operate.
Pro tennis player Jessica Pegula has revealed that her mother, Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres co-owner and president Kim Pegula, went into cardiac arrest in June and is still recovering while dealing with significant language and memory issues.
Automakers Renault and Nissan on Monday formalized their reboot of a relationship that had grown rocky, culminating in the spectacular fall of top executive Carlos Ghosn, who had led successful turnarounds at both companies before his arrest and daring escape.
New research suggests that cutting fossil fuel emissions by adopting electric vehicles can improve air quality and potentially reduce respiratory problems in communities. But these benefits may not apply to all neighbourhoods in the same way.
Former NFL player Jim Bob Morris is heading to the Super Bowl in Phoenix from Bloomington, Illinois, in a newly refurbished set of wheels. His ride has new paint, new seating and even a new bathroom.
