Today marks the beginning of the Prince and Princess of Wales’s visit to our own city of Boston. William and Kate have planned to stay in Boston on a three-day trip to celebrate and present awards given out by Earthshot Prize. Earthshot Prize is an organization founded by Prince William to provide support and praise to those doing work to improve the environment and the climate crisis. This will be the second annual Earthshot Prize award ceremony. The visit is unlike a regular royal tour and is mainly focused on the ceremony, along with bringing attention to finding solutions to climate issues. Even though this is the main principle of the royals’ trip to Boston, there is an underlying and important social significance to visit. 

Today, November 30th, William and Kate began their visit by being greeted by Mayor Michelle Wu and Ambassador Caroline Kennedy this afternoon. Tomorrow the couple will visit an incubator, Greentown Labs, and a non-profit organization, Roca. Greentown Labs works in finding solutions to climate crises and Roca is an organization that works with young people to decrease incarceration. On Friday, December 2nd, Prince William is headed to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Meanwhile, the princess will spend time at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Friday night is also when the Earthshot Prize award ceremony will be held. Five different awards, along with grants of about $1.2 million dollars, will be given to entrepreneurs who have taken extraordinary action in improving the planet and the environment. The ceremony and the spread of climate awareness are very important, but the royals’ visit, specifically to Boston, also contains significant social weight. 

This will be the first time William and Kate will be visiting the United States in eight years and much has changed for the British monarchy in this time period. The royal couple hasn’t visited the U.S. since Prince Harry and Meghan left Britain and the royal family. Even more notably, this will be their first visit to the U.S. since Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. To have this monumental visit to our capital city of Boston is sensational. The Earthshot Prize ceremony was chosen to be held in Boston to honor the work the city has put in to fight climate change. Boston was chosen for its historical significance in connection to Great Britain. Boston being a city of great importance to the American Revolution is what made it a perfect city to visit for the two royals. 

As mentioned earlier, much of the monarchy has changed since William and Kate last visited the U.S., making this visit to Boston a time to rebrand the royal family’s image in America. Due to the Queen’s death, new negative attention brought on by shows such as The Crown, and many continuous calls to abolish the monarchy, the royal family is attempting to reshape their image worldwide. The prince and princess are beginning to introduce a new modernized monarchy in order to maintain the relevancy that drives the continuation of the existence of the British royal family. The royals are mainly attempting to do this by focusing on initiatives that are important to them, like improving the climate crisis. Through the reaction of the American people to the prince and princess’ visit to Boston, it will become more clear how successfully the royal family is emerging into this new phase of monarchical life on a broader scale. 

Both the social and environmental impact of the trip will prove to be very important. To discover the recipients of the Earthshot Prize awards and to learn about their service to the climate and planet, the ceremony will be broadcasted on PBS on December 14 (8:00 pm ET) in the U.S. No matter the conclusion of the social impact of the trip, it is quite extraordinary that the Prince and Princess of Wales will be visiting our capital city, Boston. If you are interested in learning more about the British monarchy, particularly its current evolvement, refer to this past article (The Legacy Queen Elizabeth Left on the British Monarchy by Shae Garofalo ‘25) to learn more.