CNN
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President Joe Biden met with the Prince of Wales in Boston on Friday and shared “warm memories” of the late Queen Elizabeth II, according to Kensington Palace.
The Prince of Wales and Princess of Wales traveled to Boston for the 2nd Annual Earthshot Awards Ceremony. It’s an ambitious initiative set up by Prince William to help tackle some of the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges, due Friday. The heir to the British throne was inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 “moonshot” speech to command the United States to push forward with space exploration.
After Biden greeted the prince outside the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, the two spent 30 minutes together and had a “warm, friendly and substantive discussion,” according to a Kensington Palace statement. He said the prince also shared his global and long-term ambitions for the award.
White House Press Secretary Carine Jean-Pierre said Friday that climate goals and prioritization of mental health will be discussed.
Biden was last at the Boston Library in September, where he made remarks about the administration’s cancer moonshot program.
The Bidens have met with the British royal family on numerous occasions, including recently attending Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London last September. At a meeting in Boston, Prince William thanked Mr. Biden for attending the Queen’s service.
The royal family’s three-day visit to Boston will be their first visit to the United States since their visit to New York in 2014. The pair also embarked on a whirlwind California tour just months after their 2011 wedding.
The couple’s trip was seen as an opportunity to reset years of damaged perceptions in the United States. An interview the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 damaged the family’s reputation, especially over allegations of racism.
But as the couple flew into the city, controversy erupted at home after the aide resigned after making “unacceptable and extremely disappointing” remarks to a black executive who visited Buckingham Palace earlier this week.
Women at the center of Buckingham Palace controversy speak out
In Boston, Biden then joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ telephone bank.
The president told reporters on Friday that while he was in Boston, he would help Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia run off the ballot by raising money for the Democratic Senate Election Committee. A new his CNN poll conducted by SSRS shows Warnock has a slight lead over Republican challenger Herschel Walker among the candidates likely to vote in Tuesday’s runoff. is showing.
CNN previously reported that Biden headed to Massachusetts on Friday to headline a fundraising event for the Georgia Senate runoff. The president is expected to attend the event along with Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts Democratic Party and Ed his marquee.
This story has been updated with additional developments.