The Future King and the President! Prince William Joins President Joe Biden in Boston

Stephanie Petit

December 2, 2022 at 3:16 p.m.·4 min read

Prince William received the ultimate American welcome during his latest outing in Boston when President Joe Biden welcomed him.

On Friday, the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne visited the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, where he was joined by the president.

"Where's your top coat?" Biden asked William as the prince arrived in just a suit despite the chilly Boston weather. "Hello, Mr. President!" William said with a laugh as he reached out to shake the president's hand.

"Good to see you again," Biden said, to which William replied, "Good to see you too."

Of the pair's 30-minute visit, William's spokesman said: "It was a warm, friendly and substantive discussion. The president was keen to learn about the prince's Earthshot Prize and some of the stories from the finalists. The prince also shared his global, long-term ambition for the Prize."

William also thanked President Biden for traveling to London for his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth's funeral in September. "They both shared warm memories of Her Majesty," he said.

US President Joe Biden meets with Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts, December 2, 2022.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Prince William and President Joe Biden

Also on hand to greet the prince were Ambassador Caroline Kennedy (the daughter of JFK) and her children, Jack Schlossberg and Tatiana Schlossberg, who accompanied William on a tour of the building.

Prince William, Prince of Wales meets with US President Joe Biden at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on December 02, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Prince and Princess of Wales are visiting the coastal city of Boston to attend the second annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony, an event which celebrates those whose work is helping to repair the planet. During their trip, which will last for three days, the royal couple will learn about the environmental challenges Boston faces as well as meeting those who are combating the effects of climate change in the area.

Chris Jackson/Getty Prince William and President Joe Biden

Prince William, 40, chose Boston as the host city for the second annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony in tribute to President Kennedy. Inspired by President Kennedy's famed 10-year goal of landing on the moon (known as Moonshot), the Earthshot Prize aims to promote impactful approaches to the world's most pressing environmental challenges over the next decade. (Fittingly, the announcement that the 2022 awards ceremony would be held in Boston came on the anniversary of the moon landing in July.)

During his visit to the Boston landmark, William viewed exhibits from the pivotal years of the Kennedy Administration in the 1960s, ahead of the moon landing in 1969.

Chris Jackson/Getty Prince William and President Joe Biden

At a private luncheon following the tour, William gave brief remarks, saying: "Thank you, Ambassador Kennedy, for that warm welcome and for hosting us here in this iconic building. Caroline, just over a year ago, we committed to bringing the Earthshot Prize to Boston, the birthplace of your father, and the man who inspired our mission. The 2022 winners announced later today are the next step on our collective journey. Their stories are inspiring, and their solutions are game-changing."

Prince William, Prince of Wales and Caroline Kennedy visit the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on December 02, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Prince and Princess of Wales are visiting the coastal city of Boston to attend the second annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony, an event which celebrates those whose work is helping to repair the planet. During their trip, which will last for three days, the royal couple will learn about the environmental challenges Boston faces as well as meeting those who are combating the effects of climate change in the area.

Prince William and Caroline Kennedy

"Humans have an extraordinary capacity to set goals and strive to achieve them," William said in a TED Talk last year. "I've long been inspired by President John F. Kennedy's 1961 mission to put a man on the moon within a decade. He named it the Moonshot. It seemed crazy. We'd only just launched the first satellite. Putting a man on the moon that quickly seemed impossible."

Prince William, Prince of Wales, Jack Schlossberg, Tatiana Schlossberg and Caroline Kennedy visit the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on December 02, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Prince and Princess of Wales are visiting the coastal city of Boston to attend the second annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony, an event which celebrates those whose work is helping to repair the planet. During their trip, which will last for three days, the royal couple will learn about the environmental challenges Boston faces as well as meeting those who are combating the effects of climate change in the area.

Chris Jackson/Getty Prince William, Jack Schlossberg, Tatiana Schlossberg and Caroline Kennedy

But Kennedy inspired people "to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. In taking that giant leap for mankind, the team behind the Moonshot united millions of people around the world — that this crazy ambition wasn't so crazy after all."

The Prince of Wales with Ambassador Caroline Kennedy (left), the daughter of John F. Kennedy, during a visit to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at Columbia Point in Boston, Massachusetts, to hear about President John F. Kennedy's Moonshot, which challenged America to put a man on the moon and is the key inspiration behind The Earthshot Prize. Picture date: Friday December 2, 2022.

Press Association via AP Images Caroline Kennedy, Prince William, Jack Schlossberg and Tatiana Schlossberg

According to Prince William, that kind of ambition continues to be critical as we "start this new decade knowing that it is the most consequential period in history."

"If we do not act in this decade, the damage that we have done will be irreversible," he said. "And the effects felt not just by future generations but by all of us alive today. And what's more, this damage will not be felt equally by everyone. It is the most vulnerable, those with the fewest resources and those who've done the least to cause climate change who will be impacted the most."

On Friday night, the star-studded Earthshot Prize ceremony will be held at the MGM Music Hall. There, five winners from the pool of finalists will be announced. They will each receive $1 million grants to accelerate their project's goals, in addition to support from the Earthshot network.

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The Prince of Wales with Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of John F. Kennedy, during a visit to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at Columbia Point in Boston, Massachusetts, to hear about President John F. Kennedy's Moonshot, which challenged America to put a man on the moon and is the key inspiration behind The Earthshot Prize. Picture date: Friday December 2, 2022.

Press Association via AP Images Prince William and Caroline Kennedy

Prince William's wife, Kate Middleton, had a solo engagement of her own on Friday. She visited Harvard University outside Boston, heading to the prestigious school's Center on the Developing Child. Kate, 40, spoke with researchers about the advances in science that can be harnessed to achieve a promising future for every child, one of the key focuses of her royal work.