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3 Decades After Diana Took New York By Storm, Who Will Prove The Heir To Her Humanitarian Crown?
For the monarch, the events in the US allegedly represent the sternest of tests.
Prince William and Kate Middleton will next week travel for their first official visit to the U.S. city of Boston as Prince and Princess of Wales. The pair will be attending the 2nd Earthshot Prize Awards – a ten-year-long event that awards £1 million annually to those who offer pioneering remedies to save the planet.
William and Kate’s engagements will also cover vulnerable young people, including a project related to Princess Diana’s special interest in the early years of childhood.
The awards are held in the city most closely identified with the Kennedy family and it will see the prince teaming up with the assassinated president’s grandson Jack Schlossberg, 29. William will also meet with Boston’s mayor Michelle Wu, 37, the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants and the first Asian-American woman to serve on the Boston City Council.
His greatest asset, of course, remains his wife Kate, who reportedly radiates something that made Diana [pictured] a sensation in the United States.
A friend of the couple alleged they are excited about being on American soil after an absence of eight years. William and Kate, eight years ago, had a knock-out trip to New York but dazzled their way through Los Angles and Hollywood. In the years since things have changed, so much tends to ride on their next week’s visit as it’s seen as vital to the long-term well-being of the monarchy.
“They appreciate there will be a lot of interest and they do welcome it. It’s obviously a big moment for them as they adjust to their new roles and titles,” the friend said.
They continued: “William, especially knows how much American adored his mother and that she was the last Princess of Wales to visit its shores.” DailyMail, however, reported the new Prince and Princess of Wales are to also attend the Ripple of Hope Award Gala, which will bring them into contact with another offshoot of the Kennedy tribe. The decision has been ridiculed and there are growing signs that América’s love with the couple might be tiring.
The Ripple of Hope Award Gala, which has recognized figures like President Obama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu is said to be in recognition of the Sussexes moral courage.
It’s no news that the polarizing presence of the exiled Duke and Duchess of Sussex has done serious damage to the reputation and good name of the House of Windsor. The ordeal has seen the brothers [Prince William and Prince Harry] pitch against each other and has put the royals in their highest state of anxiety.
However, with the upcoming events, Americans are rolling out the red carpet on their East Coast for both William and Harry within days of one another.
The twin visits are being likened to a duel and a battle of philanthropic do-gooding. What makes it even more fascinating is that both couples will be channeling Diana. It’s worth noting that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to be given a human rights award, which is not for work to do with Aids, leprosy, or the sick and the downtrodden, as Diana was but for calling out structural racism within the monarchy.
During their interview with Oprah Winfrey, the couple had claimed an unnamed member of the Royal Family made a remark they construed as racist, wondering what their son would like when he was born.
The late Queen Elizabeth at the time famously responded with her unvarnished observation to the claim, stating recollections may vary. Well, little is known of the other guests but ticket packages to the top table with the promise of rubbing shoulders with the Duke and Duchess are priced at up to $1million. The event is being hosted by the actor Alec Baldwin, who’s no stranger to controversy himself.
Prince William and Kate’s visit across the pond also comes since the Oprah interview, when Meghan claimed the Princess of Wales made her cry and Harry said of his brother: “The relationship is space at the moment. Time heals all things, hopefully.”
Nonetheless, the recognition of the Sussexes moral courage at the upcoming Ripple of Hope Award Gala has been slammed on social media, with one critic accusing the couple of gratuitous attention-seeking, since it’s the only thing that keeps them relevant. Another said: “Harry and Meghan are all about attention and greed.” While a third noted: “Americans didn’t side with the Sussexes, let’s be clear about that.”
“The Prince and Princess of Wales are coming in connection with an award for which they are sponsors/patrons, while the Sussex duo are getting an award that almost no one seems to think they deserve. No comparison,” someone wrote.
An online observer also stated: “There is nothing heroic about those two. Instead, the word “cowards” comes to mind, because instead of facing the challenges Meghan faced when she was living in England, she convinced Harry to abandon his family and his country, because things did not go her way.” Diana’s former secretary Patrick Jephson is positive as to the reaction the Prince and Princess of Wales will generate but warns there are risks if King Charles’s sons are perceived as acting out their differences on a transatlantic stage.
All the same, there’s a view that Kate and William’s low-key visit lacks glitz.
Former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown, who dined with Diana in New York not long before her death, says: ‘Interest in William and Kate is a low boil. I would like to have seen them hit more cities than Boston where the sizzle factor is quiescent, to say the least.” On the other hand, Meghan and Harry’s show said to be a historical documentary will be streamed next month. Then, in January comes Harry’s memoir Spare, which publishers say will be raw, unflinching honesty.
