(Boston) The Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, kicked off their first visit to the United States in eight years in Boston on Wednesday, just as controversy erupted in the UK over an incident racist incident at Buckingham Palace.
A former aide to Queen Elizabeth II resigned on Wednesday after insistent questions about her origins to a black feminist activist at a reception in Buckingham, sparking a scandal that darkens the trip of the British princely couple, their first to the foreigner since the death of the queen on September 8.
“Racism has no place in our society,” William’s spokesman had immediately declared in Boston, even before the arrival of William and Kate, whose visit is an opportunity to shine the British Crown in the United States.
A sign of the importance of this trip for the monarchy of the United Kingdom and its former American colony, the White House announced that President Joe Biden would go on Friday to “greet the Prince and Princess of Wales” in Boston, capital of the New England and historic city symbol of British colonialism before the Revolution and American independence at the end of the 18e century.
“Optimists”
For “our first visit abroad since the death of my grandmother, I would like to thank the people of Massachusetts, and Boston in particular, for their many tributes to the late queen. She remembered with great fondness her visit for the bicentennial (of the Revolution) in 1976,” William said at the Boston airport.
The trip was due to culminate on Friday with the second edition of the “Earthshot” prize created by Prince William in 2020 to support innovative solutions aimed at regenerating the planet. Five prizes of one million pounds each (1.16 million euros) will be awarded in five categories.
A myriad of stars are expected at Boston’s MGM Music Hall, including singer Billie Eilish and actor Rami Malek.
William and Kate were warmly welcomed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, the city’s first Asian American, and by future Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, the first lesbian woman elected to lead a US state.
In front of a smiling and enthusiastic crowd, the Prince of Wales said he wanted to “learn how the people of Massachusetts are fighting climate change in innovative ways”, in a city which, like New York, is threatened by rising sea levels. Atlantic.
” No space ”
It is William’s first overseas trip since becoming heir to the Crown after his father, King Charles III, acceded to the throne on the death of Elizabeth II on September 8.
Aged 40, parents of three children aged 4 to 9, they strive to project a more modern and accessible image of the monarchy, but also an irreproachable sense of duty.
But the trip is already suffering from a new controversy over racism in the United Kingdom.
An 83-year-old former lady-in-waiting, close to Elizabeth II for more than 60 years and godmother to Prince William, resigned on Wednesday over questions she posed to a black feminist at a reception in Buckingham on Tuesday evening.
PHOTO KIN CHEUNG, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ngozi Fulani (top left), the director of the Sistah Space association which supports victims of domestic violence, claimed on Twitter that a person working at the Palace had asked her insistently “where she really came from” during a reception on Tuesday.
The palace said it took the case “extremely seriously” and denounced “unacceptable and truly regrettable comments”.
Neither Harry nor Meghan
No meeting is scheduled between William and his brother Harry, who lives in California with his wife Meghan Markle and their two young children. The two couples are notoriously cold, especially since the television interview of Harry and Meghan (known as the Sussexes) in the United States in March 2021, which had accused the royal family of racism.
The death of Queen Elizabeth after 70 years of reign did not bring them closer. After her death, they conceded only one icy four-person appearance at Windsor Castle to admire the flowers laid in tribute to the sovereign.
William and Kate will have to deal with the shadow of the Sussexes during their visit, more popular in the United States than they are in the United Kingdom.
On December 6, Harry and Meghan are to receive an award at a gala in New York, recognizing their humanitarian commitment, by the Robert Kennedy Foundation. In December is also expected their documentary on Netflix. And the worldwide release of Prince Harry’s memoir, The Alternateis scheduled for January 10: a book “of raw honesty” according to the publisher, which the British royal family awaits with apprehension.