NEW YORK ― Prince William touched down in New York on Monday and instantly did the one factor most New Yorkers would by no means dream of doing.
The Prince of Wales walked into the East River ― waders and all ― with the Manhattan skyline within the background.
While most metropolis dwellers actively attempt to keep away from coming into contact with the water, William walked in as a part of an occasion placed on with the Billion Oyster Project. The nonprofit is working to revive 1 billion oysters to the New York Harbor by 2035.
The visible of the royal going into and being within the water is essential, in line with Agata Poniatowski, the general public outreach supervisor for the Billion Oyster Project. Poniatowski waded into the water alongside the prince, who she mentioned was “really, really excited” in regards to the exercise.
“Having the prince join us here in the water in New York changes that perspective of the water, where people think it’s so dirty, it’s so gross,” she informed reporters, together with HuffPost, after the outing. “But really, you know, the water is swimmable on certain days of the week. We want to work on that change in perspective, and the prince really helped us with that.”
Cindy Ord through Getty Images
Cindy Ord through Getty Images
The royal’s outing with the group first took him to Governor’s Island by boat on Monday, simply after his industrial flight landed from the U.Ok.
After assembly with restaurateurs, volunteers, employees and college students concerned with the venture on the island, he took one other boat over to Brooklyn Bridge Park, the place he hopped within the water to take a look at the oysters.
He then met with 12-year-old college students from Harbor Middle School and measured the oysters with them.
Cindy Ord through Getty Images
The prince is on the town on behalf of his environmental initiative, The Earthshot Prize. The 15 finalists for this yr’s awards will likely be unveiled on Tuesday on the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit, which is being co-hosted by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Bloomberg Philanthropies.
During the Prince of Wales’ time in New York ― which additionally coincides with New York Climate Week ― the inheritor to the throne met with the U.N. secretary-general on Monday forward of the 78th session of the U.N. General Assembly.
Upon touchdown at Newark airport, the royal mentioned that it was “so good to be back in the United States.”
“No one does optimism and ingenuity like the American people, so it’s only right we unveil this year’s Earthshot finalists in New York City,” he mentioned.
William can also be anticipated to satisfy with first responders in Manhattan on Tuesday. The royal, who was an emergency first responder throughout his time as a helicopter pilot, is anticipated to talk to the firefighters about their work and psychological well being.
“He’s conscious that he’s doing this visit only a few days after September 11th, where many of the people that he will be meeting tomorrow were remembering those that were lost on 9/11 itself,” a Kensington Palace spokesperson mentioned Monday morning.
Cindy Ord through Getty Images
The Prince of Wales was initially set to go to New York final September, however his journey was canceled because of the loss of life of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth.
The palace spokesperson mentioned that the prince was excited to satisfy with New Yorkers this week, and appreciated their understanding when his journey was known as off final yr.
“As he remarked previously, the prince was incredibly appreciative for the love and support shown by the American people during that time,” the spokesperson mentioned. “And he is grateful and continues to be. And he is very much looking forward to being back in New York this week and hopefully meeting as many New Yorkers as possible.”
The Prince of Wales final visited New York in 2014 together with his spouse, Kate Middleton.
Both the Prince and Princess of Wales additionally made it to the U.S. final yr, after they visited Boston in November. HuffPost lined their royal tour, which additionally included attending the 2022 Earthshot Prize ceremony.
Ahead of the awards present in Boston, William additionally wrote an unique essay for HuffPost wherein he mentioned he’s a “stubborn optimist” with regards to the Earth’s future.
“Dire predictions about our natural world aren’t the only side to this story and they don’t have to be our future,” he wrote on the time. “In this critical decade, I invite you all to be optimistic, to support the game-changers and to believe in the power of human ingenuity.”
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