Wednesday night, Prince William and Kate Middleton surprised basketball fans by attending the game between the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, both aged 40, were greeted by Wycliffe “Wyc” Grousbeck, the principal owner of the Boston Celtics, prior to their courtside seating.
In addition, Massachusetts Governor-elect Maura Healey and Celtics icon Thomas “Satch” Sanders accompanied them.
The royal couple arrived in town on Wednesday for a three-day vacation that will conclude on Friday with the awarding of The Earthshot Prize. The Prize was created to identify and cultivate solutions to global warming.
According to insiders, when they took a break from their busy schedule, they were excited to greet fans at the game.
Throughout the game, references were made to the coming of The Earthshot Prize, such as the Celtics’ custom of recognizing a “Hero Among Us” at each game.
Wednesday night’s hero was a 15-year-old climate activist from Easthampton, Massachusetts named Ollie Perraul. Since she was 11 years old, she has been a prominent member of the Youth Climate Leadership Program and is now the creator and director of Youth Climate Action Now.
According to Page Six, the pair was also scheduled to meet with officials of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, which provides grassroots programming and strategic support to local groups that serve at-risk or in-need individuals.
They were particularly interested in knowing more about the “Curbside Care” mobile unit, which, through a partnership with Boston Medical Center, will deliver complete, streamlined care to women and infants in the first six weeks of life, right at their front door.
The royal couple paid respect to the late Queen Elizabeth II shortly after landing on American soil earlier today. This is their first visit to the United States since 2014.
During a speech at Boston City Hall, William stated, “Catherine and I are happy to be back in the United States and are extremely thankful to Governor Baker and the first lady of Massachusetts for their warm welcome into Boston.”
“On this, our first foreign visit since my grandmother’s passing, I would like to thank the people of Massachusetts and Boston in particular for the numerous tributes made to the late Queen.
She had pleasant memories of her Bicentennial visit in 1976.
“My grandmother was one of life’s optimists,” he continued. And I am too. In an effort to safeguard the future of our planet, we developed the Earthshot Prize with the intention of creating a genuinely global platform to inspire hope and urgent optimism.”
Their visit occurs shortly after Lady Susan Hussey, William’s godmother, resigned from her royal duties after being accused of bigotry.
During her most recent visit to Buckingham Palace, the CEO of Sistah Space, Ngozi Fulani, claimed that a “Lady SH” asked her repeatedly where she was from and what her nationality was.
Lady SH allegedly responded, “No, but where do you truly come from, where do your people come from?” after Fulani told her she was born in the United Kingdom.
Hussey has since issued an apology and “resigned” from her position.
A spokesperson for the Palace stated on Wednesday that the remarks were “unacceptable and deeply regrettable” and that an investigation had been launched immediately to determine the full circumstances.
Since then, the Palace has reached out to Fulani and extended an invitation “to address all aspects of her experience in person.”
The spokesperson added, “All members of the Household are reminded of the diversity and inclusion policies they are required to uphold at all times.”
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