Prince William and Kate Middleton were all smiles as they sat courtside at the Boston Celtics game Wednesday night, Nov. 30, during their first trip to the United States since 2014. While the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, both 40, were both dressed up for the game, which was against Miami Heat, they weren’t as ornately robed as people may be used to. William looked clean in a navy-blue suit paired with a denim button-up that was unbuttoned at the top. The mother of three, for her part, was nicely dressed in black slacks and a bright blue suit jacket that featured black lining and buttons.
The pair sat courtside with three prestigious women, which can be seen in the below photo. From left to right sat Mayor of Boston Michelle Wu, Governor-elect Maura Healey (the first female governor of Massachusetts and the first openly lesbian governor in US history), Prince William, Kate, Princess of Wales, and the wife of Celtics owner Wyc Grousebeack, Emilia Fazzalari. The quintet appeared to be in high spirits as they chatted, laughed, and clapped during the game.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ basketball outing was a surprise to fans. The royal couple is in the US for the second annual Earthshot Prize ceremony, which will take place at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway Park on Friday, Dec. 2. The Earthshot Prize was founded by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in 2020 to help encourage and incentivize forward-thinking plans to help fight climate change across the globe. Last year’s ceremony was held in London, England.
Prince and Kate used the basketball game as a time to relax, according to a source for Page Six. They were reportedly “eager to meet fans at the game”, who cheered them on when they were shown on the Jumbotron, as seen in the clip below.
The Prince of Wales on the jumbotron @celtics
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) December 1, 2022
While they were there to let loose, the couple, who have been married since 2011, did have some business to attend to involving the Celtics. The team is behind the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, which has a goal to provide “grassroots programming and strategic funding to local organizations serving at risk or at need youth populations,” per its website, and the royals wanted to learn more about their initiatives, according to the source for Page Six. More specifically, they were excited to hear about the “Curbside Care” mobile unit, which gives care to new mothers and infants up to six weeks post-delivery.
The trip is a big deal for the future king of England, as it marks his first overseas trip since the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. During his opening speech at Boston City Hall earlier in the day, he honored the late queen. “Catherine and I are delighted to be back in the United States and are extremely grateful to Gov. Baker and the first lady of Massachusetts for their warm welcome into Boston,” he kindly stated in his speech. “On this, our first overseas visit since the death of my grandmother, I would like to thank the people of Massachusetts and particularly of Boston for their many tributes paid to the late Queen. She remembered her 1976 Bicentennial visit with great fondness.”
“My grandmother was one of life’s optimists. And so am I,” he continued. “That is why last year we launched the Earthshot Prize with the ambition to create a truly global platform to inspire hope and urgent optimism as we look to save the future of our planet.”
It is unclear if William and Kate plan to see Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who live on the opposite coast in California, during their trip to America.
