The British heir to the throne Prince William (40) met US President Joe Biden (80) in Boston on Friday. Then the royal and his wife Kate (40) attended the award ceremony for the environment and climate prize he had created.
The US President and the Prince spent half an hour together and, according to Kensington Palace, had a “warm, friendly and meaningful conversation.” Biden was keen to hear about the Earthshot award and stories from the finalists. In addition, the two men exchanged “warm memories” of the late Queen Elizabeth II († 96), as the palace announced.
The Bidens have met with British royals on a number of occasions, including at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London in September. During the meeting in Boston, Prince William thanked Biden for traveling to the Queen’s funeral.
It was the fourth meeting between the two in the past 18 months
Prince William is with Kate for the presentation of his “Earthshot” award for innovative climate protection projects in Boston. Five projects are awarded each year that stand out in the categories of nature conservation, protection of the seas, air quality, waste prevention and climate protection.
William follows in the footsteps of his environmentally conscious grandfather Prince Philip († 99) and his father King Charles III. (73). He has been known as a climate protection pioneer for decades, but as a monarch he now has less freedom.
For the heir to the throne, it is the first trip abroad since the death of William’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and the first trip to the USA since 2014 – and an attempt to change the international image of the royal family. After the Queen’s death, Charles had made it clear that he wanted to run the monarchy with less pomp and ceremony than his predecessors. So William and Kate traveled very modestly to Boston on a commercial British Airways plane.
(bw/dpa)