Ila Bumagin, Junior
Recently, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and Princess Kate, visited Boston. While they were here, they met with President Biden and went to the JFK Library in Dorchester. At the library, they met with Caroline Kennedy and her son Jack Schlossberg to discuss the Earthshot Prize, a program the prince founded as a competition to see who could create the most innovative and effective solutions to climate change. It is based on JFK’s “Moonshot” program that eventually put a man on the moon.
Prince William announced the winners of the 2022 season on December 2. There were five categories, and the winner of each category received $1.2 million to build their programs. The winners were: Makuru Clean Stoves to promote clean air in Kenya; Kheyti for cheap greenhouses to restore nature in India; Indigenous Women of the Great Barrier Reef to help the coral reefs; NOTPLA to provide a natural solution to plastic packaging; and the 44.01 Project to recycle CO2. Each one of these projects is designed to help solve climate change around the globe and focuses on different aspects of the environment.
Prince William also met with Joe Biden while in Boston. Biden supports the Earthshot initiative and shares the goals of the project.
The Prince and Princess had not been to the United States since 2014. There has recently been much criticism of the royal family, as well as instability in England after Queen Elizabeth II’s death. Therefore, this trip was meant to bring the focus back to something positive in the royal family, as it was important for them and their image nationwide.
It’s also an important week for Massachusetts. Many celebrities were drawn to Boston this week to perform or be at the royal events, including Beckham, Ellie Goulding, Catherine O’Hara, and Mitt Romney. The Boston Globe mentioned how this event puts Boston as the hub of innovative activity in America right now.