Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Attend Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony in Boston

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are set to travel to the east coast of the United States to attend an awards ceremony that celebrates violinists who seek to tackle environmental challenges.

The couple will be taking one of Prince William's beloved causes, his climate change awareness initiative, the Earthshot Prize, across the pond.

On Wednesday, the Duke and Duchess announced that the Earthshot Prize would be held in Boston this year.

The first awards ceremony for the Earthshot Prize was held in London in 2021.

In an announcement posted on Kensington Palace's official Twitter page, it was revealed that the event would be held in early December and would award five £1 million prizes to solutions for the changes facing the planet across five categories, or Earthshots.

These are protecting and restoring nature, cleaning the environment, cleaning the air, reviving the oceans, building a waste-free world, and fixing the climate.

The Earthshot Prize aims to provide at least 50 solutions to the world's greatest environmental problems by 2030.

Five £1 million prizes will be awarded each year for the next 10 years.

The city of Boston has been chosen as the venue for this year's event, in part, for its close association with former President John F. Kennedy, whose moonshot goal for landing man on the moon in the 1960s served as inspiration for the ambitious undertaking of the Earthshot Prize.

The announcement was made on the anniversary of the moon landing on July 20, 1969.

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation is serving as a host partner for the event, alongside Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

Caroline Kennedy, U.S. diplomat and daughter of John F. Kennedy, called the prizes naming a great tribute to her late father.

She said, “It is a great tribute to President Kennedy that the Earthshot Prize has been inspired by his moonshot to take on the most important challenges we face today.

My family and the JFK Library Foundation look forward to partnering with Prince William and the Earthshot Prize on this exciting initiative.”

When Prince William launched the decade-long Earthshot Prize in October 2020, he spoke of harnessing urgency and optimism to find solutions for the environment.

“I felt very much that there's a lot of people wanting to do many good things for the environment and what they need is a bit of a catalyst, a bit of hope, a bit of positivity that we can actually fix what's being presented,” the Prince said in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

The announcement of the Earthshot Prize's move to Boston sparked an excited reaction from royal fans on social media.

Many expressed their enthusiasm for the event and congratulated the city of Boston.

The couple may also take the opportunity to incorporate additional public engagements into the visit as they have not taken an official tour in the US since 2014.

It was announced last week that after two successful years, the Earthshot Prize had separated from the Royal Foundation to become an independent charity with Prince William appointed president.

The appointment of trustees caused some controversy as a former Kensington Palace staff member who later became CEO of the Royal Foundation, Jason Cunaff, was included among their number.

Cunaff made headlines in 2021 after an email he sent to Prince William's private secretary while he was working as communications secretary for both the Cambridges as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018 was leaked to the press.

In the email, he raised concern that Meghan had bullied members of the palace staff, allegations which would lead to a review by Buckingham Palace which in June was announced would not be made public.

As president of the charity, it is expected that Prince William will attend the awards ceremony in Boston, though an appearance has not yet been announced.

If he does make the journey to the United States, Catherine will likely join him as she did for the ceremony in London in 2021.

The Earthshot Prize is an ambitious undertaking, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's attendance at the awards ceremony in Boston will bring attention to the importance of finding solutions for the environmental challenges facing our planet.