US President Joe Biden (80) met the British heir to the throne Prince William (40) in Boston. The two met on Friday in the US East Coast city and exchanged “warm memories” of the late Queen Elizabeth II, according to Kensington Palace.
The US President and the Prince spent half an hour together and, according to Kensington Palace, had a “warm, friendly and meaningful conversation.”
The Bidens have met with British royals on a number of occasions, including at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London in September. During the meeting in Boston, Prince William thanked Biden for traveling to the Queen’s funeral.
Prince William is currently in Boston with his wife Kate (40) to receive his “Earthshot” award for innovative climate protection projects. Five projects are honored each year that stand out in the categories of nature conservation, protection of the seas, air quality, waste prevention and climate protection.
William follows in the footsteps of his environmentally conscious grandfather Prince Philip († 99) and his father King Charles III. (73). He has been known for decades as a climate protection pioneer, but as a monarch he now has less freedom.
For the heir to the throne, it is the first trip abroad since the death of William’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II († 96) and the first trip to the USA since 2014 – and an attempt to change the international image of the royal family. After the Queen’s death, Charles had made it clear that he wanted to run the monarchy with less pomp and ceremony than his predecessors. So William and Kate traveled very modestly to Boston on a commercial British Airways plane.
(bw/dpa)