William and Kate visit Boston Harbour Defences
Prince William and Kate carried out the second day of their US tour in Boston amid a royal racism row and the drop of a headline-grabbing trailer for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new Netflix documentary.
The Prince and Princess of Wales visited Greentown Labs, the US’s largest clean-tech incubator, then Roca, a non-profit that works to counter urban violence, before inspecting projects to mitigate rising sea levels.
Their climate change-focused schedule culminates with Friday’s Earthshot Prize awards — founded by the Prince of Wales to inspire a new generation of climate innovators.
The trip has been overshadowed by a racism scandal that erupted in the UK while they were en route to Boston. Prince William’s godmother, Lady Susan Hussey, was forced to resign as a Palace aide after making offensive remarks to a British charity boss. Ngozi Fulani, of Sistah Space, Britain’s leading domestic abuse charity for Black women, detailed a “traumatic” encounter in which she was asked what part of Africa she was from.
Then early on Thursday, Netflix released the first trailer for an exclusive documentary series in which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex tell their side of several tumultuous years in the public eye.
William and Kate shown how Boston is coping with rising sea levels
The Prince and Princess of Wales’s final afternoon engagement on Thursday involved learning about the significant climate challenges that Boston faces. William and Kate travelled to east Boston to see the changing face of the city’s shoreline as it contends with rising sea levels.
Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales speak with Mayor Michelle Wu and Reverend Mariama White-Hammond as they visit east Boston to see the changing face of Boston’s shoreline
(Getty Images)
At Piers Park, the royal couple are being shown the past, present, and future of Boston’s waterfront as guests of Mayor Michelle Wu. They are joined by representatives from key environmental organisations including Boston Harbor Now, Stone Living Lab, the Trustees of Reservations, and The Harborkeepers.
Innovative climate resilience solutions are being deployed to protect East Boston, an environmental justice community, from rising sea levels. Members of the community shared their experiences of the neighbourhood’s vulnerability to climate change-caused flooding and storm surges.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit the Harbour Defenses of Boston, Massachusetts, on 1 December 2022.
(REUTERS)
One aspect that was highlighted to the prince and princess is how transformative projects along the shoreline can best mitigate the risks of climate change while promoting equity among the diverse residents of east Boston.
Boston Harbor Now’s Stone Living Lab, which researches and tests nature-based ecological restoration solutions around Boston’s waterfront, is announcing an ambitious collaboration with Earthshot 2021 Finalist, Living Seawalls.
(Getty Images)
The company designs panels that mimic natural habitat formations like rock pools and mangrove roots that can be fitted to new or existing waterfront infrastructure to promote marine biodiversity. Two sites along Boston Harbor will have such panels installed in the coming months.
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Comment: Timing so perfect, it almost seems deliberate
The first teaser for the much-hyped new documentary has dropped amid one of the biggest racism scandals the royal family has ever faced. Meghan Markle has been vindicated, writes Louis Chilton – and this time, people may have no choice but to listen to what she says.
Oliver O’Connell2 December 2022 06:30
What other racism rows have hit Buckingham Palace in recent years?
The scandal around Lady Susan Hussey’s interaction with Ngozi Fulani is not the first time the Palace has been embroiled in a racism scandal, writes Zoe Tidman.
Oliver O’Connell2 December 2022 05:30
Everything we know and ‘Harry & Meghan’ on Netflix
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Here’s what we know so far:
Oliver O’Connell2 December 2022 04:30
William and Kate met with chants of ‘USA’ at Celtics game
The Prince and Princess of Wales attended a Boston Celtics game against the Miami Heat at Boston’s TD Garden arena on Wednesday.
The royal couple were seated courtside and were spotted cheering the match. They were joined by Massachusetts governor-elect Maura Healey and Boston mayor Michelle Wu.
As the couple’s presence was announced and their faces shown on the giant screen, chants of “USA, USA” rang out from the crowd. Boos could also be heard.
Welcome to Boston indeed.
Oliver O’Connell2 December 2022 03:30
Racist interaction with prince’s godmother constitutes ‘an abuse’
The Black charity founder told broadcasters on Thursday morning (1 December) that while the Prince of Wales’ godmother did not carry out any “physical violence”, her actions constitute “an abuse”.
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Royal aide embroiled in racism row ‘said Harry and Meghan marriage would end in tears’
Chelsea Ritschel has the details.
Oliver O’Connell2 December 2022 00:30
Biden to greet Kate and William on Friday, White House says
However, William and Kate have another meeting on the cards during their visit.
Oliver O’Connell1 December 2022 23:30
Prince and princess soldier on with climate tour despite Netflix bombshell and palace racism row
William and Kate strived today to turn the spotlight back onto the overarching crisis of climate change, and away from the latest round of royal scandals which threatened to engulf their first overseas tour since the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Louise Boyle, senior climate correspondent for The Independent, reports on how the royal couple soldiered on with their planned engagements in Boston.
Oliver O’Connell1 December 2022 23:04