Kate Middleton and Prince William Bundle up for Visit to Boston Harbor
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Kate Middleton and Prince William are learning about the past, present and future of Boston's waterfront.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, both 40, continued their visit to the U.S. on Thursday afternoon with an outing in Boston Harbor. After learning how Boston has successfully driven climate innovation earlier in the day at Greentown Labs, they saw the changing face of the city's shoreline as it contends with rising sea levels.
The couple wrapped up warm in scarves and long wool coats for the outdoor visit in the 32-degree weather, which felt even colder along the water.
Hosted by Mayor Michelle Wu, the couple heard about Boston's waterfront at Piers Park from representatives of key environmental organizations such as Boston Harbor Now, Stone Living Lab, the Trustees of Reservations and The Harborkeepers. They also spoke with members of the community about their experiences with flooding and storm surges, as well as the projects underway to mitigate the risks of climate change while promoting equity among the diverse residents of East Boston.
Chris Jackson/Getty Prince William and Kate Middleton
Kathy Abbott, CEO of Boston Harbor Now said it was so cold on the outing that she offered William her hand warmer, but the prince replied, "No, thank you."
"I don't want to be rude, I'm keeping them [hands] in my pockets, when I can feel them again it will be better," William said.
Chris Jackson/Getty Prince William and Kate Middleton
They also spoke with Carole Charnow of the Boston Children's Museum, who told them about plans to protect the museum.
She told William: "Hopefully the children will be playing in the waters next time you come here." The prince replied: "Hopefully not in temperatures like this!"
Chris Jackson/Getty Prince William, Kate Middleton, Mayor Michelle Wu and Reverend Mariama White-Hammond
After the outing, PEOPLE spoke with Mayor Wu about the Prince and Princess of Wales' visit and how they've interacted with Bostonians.
"They're delightful and generous with their time," she said. "They're very, very interested in the many ways that we are all connected to this larger mission of helping to restore and repair the planet — whether it is speaking to our parks workers who take care of our parks to those who are involved in talking about climate in schools and to the scientists and researchers who are looking for years into the future to change the trajectory. I'm so impressed and inspired by their expertise and how they are using their platform to shine a light on the good things that others are doing."
Kate and William's visit coincided with an announcement by Boston Harbor Now's Stone Living Lab, which researches and tests nature-based ecological restoration solutions around Boston's waterfront, about their collaboration with a Earthshot Prize 2021 finalist: Living Seawalls.
Chris Jackson/Getty Kate Middleton
Living Seawalls designs panels designed to mimic natural habitat formations like rock pools and mangrove roots that can be fitted to waterfront infrastructure to promote marine biodiversity. Over the coming months, Living Seawalls will work with the Stone Living Lab to design, manufacture and install these panels in two sites along Boston Harbor.
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Kate and Prince William's three-day visit to the U.S. — their first since spending time in New York City back in 2014 — will lead to Friday evening's Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony. There, five winners from the pool of finalists will be announced. They will each receive $1 million in grants to scale and accelerate their project's goals, plus support from the Earthshot network.
Chris Jackson/Getty Prince William and Kate Middleton
A source tells PEOPLE, "The prize has become the Prince's Super Bowl moment of the year, and he looks forward to continuing to use the platform each year to shine a light on some of the most impactful projects doing amazing things around the world to save our planet's future."
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Kate and Prince William kicked off their visit to Boston on Wednesday with a welcome at Boston City Hall from Mayor Michelle Wu. That night, they headed to the TD Garden to watch the Boston Celtics take on the Miami Heat, sitting courtside for the basketball game.
