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Prince William and Kate arrive in Boston for the first visit to the United States since 2014

November 30, 2022

The British Airways plane carrying Prince William and Princess Catherine of Wales arrived at Logan Airport on Wednesday.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

In a statement, William said the couple were “thrilled” to be back in the country and were “tremendously grateful to Governor Baker and the First Lady of Massachusetts for their warm welcome to Boston.”

“With this, our first overseas visit since the death of my grandmother, I want to thank the people of Massachusetts and especially Boston for their many tributes to the late Queen,” William said. “She remembered her 1976 bicentennial visit with great fondness.”

Their visit will begin Wednesday with a welcome event at Boston City Hall Plaza, where Mayor Michelle Wu will meet them at 4:15 p.m. “rain or shine,” management commissioner Eamon Shelton told reporters this week. city real estate.

“We’re expecting heavy rain,” Shelton said. “Bring your umbrella.”

While in Boston, the royal couple will also visit Roca, a youth development organization in Chelsea, and Greentown Labs in Somerville. Among other stops, Kate will pass through Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, while William is expected to visit the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Dorchester on Friday.

The visit will culminate with William and Kate attending the Earthshot Prize, a star-studded awards ceremony at MGM Music Hall in Fenway on Friday. The Boston event marks the second time the environmental award will be presented to a group of innovators.

William recalled Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September, as one of “life’s optimists”, and cited this common trait as fueling his motivation to launch the Earthshot Prize.

“My grandmother was one of life’s optimists. And so do I,” he said in the statement. “That’s why we launched the Earthshot Prize last year with the ambition to create a truly global platform to inspire hope and urgent optimism as we seek to save the future of our planet.”

Prince of Wales William and Princess of Wales Kate arrived at Logan Airport.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

The event at City Hall Plaza could draw thousands of people, Shelton said. It will be open to the public and will feature speeches by Wu; Prince William; Ambassador Caroline Kennedy; and Mariama White-Hammond, Boston’s Chief Environment, Energy and Open Spaces Officer.

Fortunately, Shelton said, “the square was built for” large crowds.

“It’s an opportunity to introduce Boston to the rest of the world,” he said.

Anticipating traffic, Shelton encouraged those planning to attend the event to take public transportation and arrive early.

Tight security will be in place for the royal visit, which will include both UK law enforcement officials and the US State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. Wu told WBUR on Monday that there had been a lot of preparation before William and Kate arrived, to ensure the visit went smoothly.

“We’re really excited about the route, the issues that will be discussed, the ability to walk and see some infrastructure up close, even before the awards ceremony later in the week,” Wu said.

As for whether Wu will be serving tea and crumpets?

“That’s TBD,” Shelton said with a laugh.

British delights or not, William said he and Kate were excited about their visit to Boston.

“To the people of Boston, thank you. I am so grateful to you for allowing us to host the second year of the Earthshot Prize in your great city,” he said in the statement. “Catherine and I look forward to meeting many of you in the days ahead.”

Globe Staff Emily Sweeney and Emma Platoff contributed to this report.

Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @shannonlarson98.