Princess Kate and Prince William dazzle as Earthshot Prize ceremony kicks off | Royal | News
Prince William and Kate Middleton arrive at Earthshot Prize awards
Kate and William dazzle as Earthshot Prize ceremony kicks off
Prince William and Kate, the Princess of Wales, are the stars of a glamorous evening as the winners of the Earthshot Prize are set to be revealed in a ceremony taking place in MGM MusicHall at Fenway in Boston, Massachusetts. The event caps a three-day trip to the US for the couple, which even saw William meet with the country’s president, Joe Biden, just hours before the high-profile event kicks off.
The Prince of Wales has declared he wants to “supercharge” the impact of his Earthshot Prize finalists to inspire a “despairing world” that there is a way forward.
In an article published a few hours before the awards ceremony for his environmental prize, William described himself as a “stubborn optimist”.
Global star Billie Eilish will lead a stellar entertainment line-up during a ceremony – dubbed the prince’s “world cup” moment – that aims to celebrate and scale up environmental solutions to repair the planet.
Former England and Manchester United footballer David Beckham will present one of the five awards with each category winner receiving £1 million to develop their project.
The Princess of Wales is wearing Princess Diana’s emerald choker
The royal pair arrived in style to cheers from the crowds
Writing in the Huffington Post, the future King said about the finalists: “The Earthshot Prize wants to find the best of them. We want to celebrate and support them, so that we not only supercharge their positive impact but also demonstrate to a despairing world that there is an optimistic way forward.
“Dire predictions about our natural world aren’t the only side to this story and they don’t have to be our future.”
Ahead of the event being staged on Friday evening at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway, behind the scenes photographs of William and Kate attending a Thursday rehearsal for the ceremony were released.
But the couple’s three-day trip to Boston, which ends on Friday, has been overshadowed by the race row that saw William’s godmother Lady Susan Hussey resign as a royal aide after she repeatedly questioned a prominent black British-born domestic abuse charity boss about where she “really came from”.
The eager crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of the royals
The royal couple were welcomed to the ceremony by adoring fans
A trailer promoting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix docuseries was released on Thursday, with the timing interpreted by some royal commentators as a snub to William and Kate.
William wrote about the thinking behind his award and how he was inspired by President John F Kennedy’s successful “Moonshot” ambition to put a man on the moon.
He said: “We face a challenge as seemingly insurmountable as putting a person on the moon: reversing the damage that has been done to our planet, and putting ourselves on a path toward a more sustainable future. Repairing our planet is not going to be easy, but the case for taking action to protect our natural world is undeniable.”
Ahead of the awards William visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, with Caroline Kennedy, JFK’s daughter and her children Jack and Tatiana Schlossberg.
During the visit, the prince was shown exhibits from the pivotal years of the Kennedy Administration in the 1960s, ahead of the moon landing in 1969, including a facsimile of JFK’s famous “We choose to go to the moon” speech, which he delivered at Rice University, Houston, in September 1962 informing the public about his mission to land a man on the moon before 1970.
“Incredible,” William said, as he looked at the speech. “What was he trying to do here?” he asked, pointing out JFK’s hand-written annotations on some sections of the speech.
Jack Schlossberg replied: “To a lot of people, he was trying to justify the investment that was going to be needed.”
After the visit, the Kennedys joined William for a private lunch and discussion with representatives from the Founding Partner organisations of the Earthshot Prize.
William met US president Joe Biden at the end of the royal’s visit to John F Kennedy’s Presidential Library and Museum, on a chilly but sunny day, and as he approached the world leader joked “where’s your top?”.
The pair greeted guests arriving for the ceremony
The Prince, who was wearing a suit, replied “Mr President, nice to see you again” and they shook hands warmly outside the building and spoke to each other for a few minutes.
As they left for private talks, where William gave Mr Biden an overview of the Earthshot Prize, the prince was overheard saying “spectacular setting” in reference to the waterside views from the museum.
A Kensington palace spokesman described the 30-minute talks between the two men as “warm, friendly and substantive”.
William thanked President Biden for travelling to London for the late Queen’s funeral in September and they both shared memories of the monarch.
The spokesman said Mr Biden was keen to learn about Earthshot and some of the stories from the finalists, including the Great Bubble Barrier, a 2022 finalist in the Revive Our Oceans category. The prince also shared his global, long term ambition for environmental awards.
Kate pays touching tribute to Princess Diana
The emerald and diamond choker necklace which the Princess of Wales opted to wear for tonight’s ceremony, once belonged to the former Princess of Wales, Princess Diana.
The necklace was famously adapted while in Diana’s possession to suit her outfit or mood for the event.
Famously, in her royal tour of Australia in 1985, Diana decided to wear the choker as a statement headband.
The re-use of a piece of jewellery in such a creative way would no doubt be suppoerted by Kate’s drive to wear sustainable and re-usable fashion choices.
The Art Deco choker has a prominent place in the history of the royal family as is once belonged to Queen Mary.
The Queen was presented with it among other jewels during the Delhi Durbar in 1911 which she then had made into the choker necklace it is today.
Since Diana passed away, the necklace was returned to the royal collection and even been part of various exhibitions.
However, the necklace is once again being worn by a Princess of Wales and is certainly garnering all of the attention it once got with its previous owner.
Princess Diana also wore the choker as a headband
David Beckham and other celebrities join the star-studded event
Actress Catherine O’Hara and ex-footballer David Beckham have arrived on the green carpet as they prepare to give out awards to two of the winners in tonight’s ceremony.
The co-hosts of the event, radio broadcaster Clara Amfo and actor Daniel Dae Kim also joined others on the green carpet ahead of the event.
Presenters Rami Malek and Shailene Woodley have also just arrived on the carpet.
Other arrivals include singer Annie Lennox and US Senator Mitt Romney and his wife Ann.
David Beckham arrived on the green carpet as he prepares to award one of the winners
Shailene Woodley is one of the presenters of the ceremony tonight
Princess of Wales continues commitment to sustainable fashion
The Princess of Wales has often made a conscious effort to re-use items in her wardrobe to make a statement about the sustainability of fashion and to encourage others to re-use rather than buy new for a one-off occasion.
The striking green dress donned by the Duchess this evening is from rental platform HURR, by Solace London.
As more and more fashion companies turn to renting out their items to support sustainable fashion, the Princess has opted to support the motion by renting her dress for reportedly £74 for the night.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have arrived
The royal pair have arrived at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway to cheers and applause.
The Princess opted for a bright green, off the shoulder, floor-length gown for the event with a nod to the ceremony’s focus on a greener future.
Royal fans have praised the dress with one saying: “She looks stunning! Looks like emeralds.”
Keen-eyed fans spotted that Kate opted to wear the late Princess Diana’s emerald choker necklace for the event.
One fan commented: “Catherine looks absolutely beautiful especially glowing with Diana s chocker! Wonderful couple”
Kate has ‘stunned’ fans with her green floor-length dress
Princess Diana wearing the same emerald necklace
Welcome to the Earthshot Prize Live Blog
Good evening, I am Emma Crabtree and I will be bringing you all of the latest updates on the Earthshot Prize event in Boston this evening.