The Prince and Princess of Wales Divided and Conquered for Their Last Day in Boston

It's been a whirlwind two and a half days for the Prince and Princess of Wales since their plane—commercial, no less—landed in Boston from London Wednesday afternoon. William and Catherine were side-by-side for all of Wednesday’s and Thursday’s engagements—even color-coordinating the vast majority of their outfits across the two days—but on Friday morning, they divided and conquered Beantown, Catherine heading to Harvard and its Center on the Developing Child, and William visiting the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, including a meetup with President Joe Biden. 

Catherine wore blue houndstooth Emilia Wickstead (a designer who is a longtime wardrobe staple) and gold earrings by London-based Lenique Louis, and further accessorized the look with a blue handbag and brown pumps. At this visit, Catherine signed Harvard’s guestbook, following in the footsteps of her father-in-law King Charles, who signed the guestbook himself on September 4, 1986—when Catherine was just four years old.

At Harvard, Catherine was in her genius zone, as early years and childhood development have long been a passion of hers. (In June 2021, she launched the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, which works with Harvard frequently on research.) On three tours in 2022—one in Denmark, one in Jamaica, and now, in Boston—Catherine has made work surrounding the early years a staple in her itinerary. It matters to her.

After the visit—which lasted an hour and a half—the Princess undertook a brief walkabout outside the building, where Bostonian Will Heffernan spoke for a few moments to her. “It was something I’ll always remember,” he said. “She was a class act, and she’ll make a great Queen in the future.” Catherine hopped in a hybrid Range Rover—which she and William have been riding in the entire visit—and drove off to the rest of her day.

Meanwhile, William visited the JFK Library with JFK’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, Kennedy’s son Jack Schlossberg, and daughter Tatiana Schlossberg. William has made no secret of his admiration for JFK and his ambitious “Moonshot”—a goal to get a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s, which was achieved—and named Earthshot to honor it, so the visit to the Library made sense. Afterwards, William attended a private lunch. He also met with President Joe Biden, who he spoke with for 30 minutes. Of the 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.”

This is William and Biden’s fourth meeting in the last 18 months, the most recent being at Her late Majesty’s funeral in September. William specifically thanked Biden for attending, and both shared fond memories of the Queen.

William and Catherine finished the day—and their Boston trip—with the star-studded Earthshot Prize Awards, held that evening.