<![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.