In Photos: The Prince and Princess of Wales Visit Boston and Harvard
Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales toured Boston in a three-day visit meant to promote their environmental innovation initiative, the Earthshot Prize. The visit marked the couple's first trip to the United States since 2014 and included stops across Boston and Cambridge.
The Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020, was inspired by the 1961 Moonshot initiative, which worked to send an American to the Moon within a decade. Earthshot similarly aims to spark and incentivize urgent optimism, innovation, and action to help repair the planet.
On Thursday, the prince and princess of Wales toured Piers Park in East Boston with Mayor Michelle Wu and Rev. Mariama White-Hammond, the city’s chief of environment, energy, and open space.
At Piers Park, the royals had a first-hand look at the climate challenges facing Boston Harbor. Massachusetts recently broke ground on Piers Park II, which will establish more greenspace along the East Boston waterfront with key resiliency features to help protect the area from flooding and rising sea levels.
The princess has focused her work on promoting the physical, emotional, and cognitive development of children around the
globe. As part of the trip, she will visit the Harvard University Center on the Developing Child, which aims to drive science-based innovation to aid children facing adversity. The Center works with policy, research, and philanthropy leaders to improve children’s learning capacity, health, and social mobility.
The Harvard Center on the Developing Child works in collaboration with The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which the princess established in 2021 to drive awareness and provide support to underserved children around the globe.
The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood — a dedicated unit within the princess and prince’s philanthropic organization — promotes and commissions research to address challenges faced by children under the age of five. The Centre also leads campaigns to raise awareness about the important role early years play in shaping a child’s future.
