<![CDATA[The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge finished a busy day of engagements yesterday, attending an NBA basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Prince William and his wife, Catherine, who are currently undertaking a two-day tour of New York City and Washington D.C., arrived at the venue after spending the day apart.
William made his first visit to Washington D.C. for a meeting with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office whilst Catherine remained in the Big Apple, meeting youngsters with developmental issues at the Northside Center with the city’s First Lady, Chirlane McCray.
Before making their way to the Barclays Center, the pair met with Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea at a reception, held in honour of the Prince’s conservation work and the partnership between The Royal Foundation and Clinton Foundation. Earlier in the day, William had made a speech asking for support in tackling illegal international wildlife trafficking, which he called the “most insidious form of corruption.”
Mrs Clinton – who is a potential presidential candidate for the 2016 election – spoke to Catherine about the benefits of singing to babies, mentioning that she sang to Chelsea when she was younger.
William had been scheduled to attend the reception alone, with The Duchess taking time to recover after her engagements. Catherine is currently pregnant with the couple’s second child, which is due in April. A last-minute change to the itinerary saw her accompany her husband, wearing a grey £515 Tory Burch Bettina coat and black jeans.
Arriving in Brooklyn, The Duke and Duchess were met by NBA commissioner, Adam Silver and the Senior Vice President of Community and Player Programs, Kathleen Behrens. Joining the Royal couple was Dikembe Mutombo, the basketball legend who is ambassador of United for Wildlife, a charity of which Prince William is Patron.
After a brief photo opportunity for the assembled media, the party enjoyed a private dinner before joining the action at the court side for the second half of the game.
The stadium was filled with cheers as the Royal couple arrived and throughout, Mutombo shared jokes with William and Catherine and gave information about the finer details of the game . Pictured enjoying popcorn and water and getting behind the action, the Cavaliers eventually trounced the Brooklyn Nets 110-88.
Rumours about whether the couple would meet with US pop ‘royalty’ were confirmed when singer Beyoncé and her rapper husband, Jay-Z were seated directly opposite the royals and the two couples met during the third and forth quarters.
Exchanging smiles and niceties, security was tight as the pop sensations shook hands and wished the royal couple a ‘merry Christmas.’
Speculation before the game was rife over whether the couple would be shown on the well-known Kiss-Cam where a camera focuses on one couple in the audience and, traditionally, said couple will then kiss. The Barclays Center was treated to a projection of The Duke and Duchess but kissing was not on the agenda – a simple smile and wave would have to suffice.
After the game, William and Catherine headed backstage to meet with Cavaliers player, LeBron James who presented the couple with a box of gift-wrapped cupcakes from his hometown of Akron in Ohio.
When asked by James what size shoes he wore, Prince William joked that they were “half the size of yours!” whilst pointing to the star’s feet.
The game marked the end of the couple’s first day of engagements. On Tuesday, they will visit the National September 11th Memorial Museum, viewing one of the Reflecting Pools in the Memorial Plaza.
The couple will also attend a fundraising dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, celebrating the 600th anniversary of St Andrew’s university. The couple both attended and first met at the university and the event is intended to support scholarships and bursaries for students from under-privileged communities, new student sports facilities in St Andrews, investment in the university’s media and science faculties and a lectureship in American Literature at St Andrews.
After the dinner, the couple will return to the UK where The Duke is scheduled to visit Birmingham and Staffordshire on Friday.
Up-to-date coverage of The Duke and Duchess’s tour is available via the Royal Central Twitter feed: @RoyalCentral
Featured Image: Rebecca English @RE_DailyMail]]>
I didn’t realize that these pop idols had Royal ancestors… how interesting.. perhaps they should be considered for possible leadership of America.