New generation of royals visit U.S.
William, Kate hosting 3-day event in Boston
BOSTON — The first overseas trip by the Prince and Princess of Wales since the death of Queen Elizabeth II began Wednesday, an occasion to show the world as much about who they are not as who they are.
With their three-day visit to Boston, focused on Prince William’s initiative to find the environmental entrepreneurs of a new generation, supplemented with trips to an anti-poverty program, child development researchers and local flood defenses, the couple hope to demonstrate that they aren’t the last remnants of a dying institution. Instead, Americans will see the younger face of a monarchy that is tackling important issues as it seeks to remain relevant in modern, multicultural Britain.
William said he chose to hold the second Earthshot Prize in Boston partly because it’s the home turf of the President John F. Kennedy, whose 1962 speech set the audacious goal of putting men on the moon within the decade.
“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.
The royal visit got off to a rainy, blustery start, but hundreds of people nonetheless waited in a steady downpour for the couple’s first public event at Boston City Hall, after arriving aboard a commercial British Airways flight. Later, the couple planned to attend a Boston Celtics basketball game.
The visit comes less than three months after the death of 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,” Boston University professor Arianne Chernock, an expert in modern British history, said. “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.”