Who pour it best? William and Kate greet Boston by tweeting rain-soaked photo showing their backs – two years after Harry and Meghan’s famous umbrella picture went viral

• Prince and Princess of Wales arrived in Boston Wednesday for a three-day visit
• They tweeted a pair of photos showing greeting from Mayor Michelle Wu
• A photo in the rain drew comparisons to the ‘umbrella photo’ of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex that went viral in 2020 

The Prince and Princess of Wales tweeted a photo after their arrival in Boston on Wednesday that has drawn comparisons to a viral rain-soaked image of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex two years ago.

‘Boston, what a welcome!’ read the tweet from the royals’ official Twitter account, along with photos of a City Hall welcome ceremony hosted by Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Governor-elect Maura Healy.

Attached were two photos of the ceremony, one a traditional image showing the royals posing with the US officials, and the other taken from an unusual angle at the back of the stage, showing the couple’s back turned with rain falling.

It drew online comparisons to an iconic photo of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle taken in March 2020, shortly before they quit royal duties and moved to California, which many described as looking like something ‘out of a movie scene.’ 

The Prince and Princess of Wales tweeted an unusual photo after their arrival in Boston, showing their backs turned as a blustery rain fell

It drew online comparisons to this iconic photo of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle taken in March 2020, shortly before they quit royal duties

Royal fans drew comparisons between the two rain-drenched photos of the royal couples

One Twitter user observed that the photo of William and Catherine was ‘not as good as that iconic photograph’ of Harry and Meghan in the rain, saying that the older snap ‘belongs in the national gallery.’

The trip to Boston marked the first overseas trip by the Prince and Princess of Wales since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September.

The visit is focused on Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, an initiative to find the environmental entrepreneurs of a new generation. 

William said he chose to hold the second Earthshot Prize in Boston partly because it’s the home turf of former President John F. Kennedy, whose 1962 speech set the audacious goal of putting men on the moon within the decade.

‘It was that moonshot speech that inspired me to launch the Earthshot Prize with the aim of doing the same for climate change as President Kennedy did for the space race. And where better to hold this year’s awards ceremony than in President Kennedy’s hometown,’ William said.

The royal visit got off to a rainy, blustery start, but hundreds of people nonetheless waited in a steady downpour for the couple’s first public event at Boston City Hall, after arriving aboard a commercial British Airways flight. 

The royal couple also shared a more traditional photo, posing with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Massachusetts Governor-elect Maura Healy

Later, the couple attended a Boston Celtics basketball game, where they were met with cheers of ‘USA! USA!’ as they were introduced at the TD Garden.

The cheers were joined by an unmistakable smattering of boos as Prince William and Kate Middleton appeared on the jumbotron, but the derision was drowned out by the otherwise good-natured welcome.

William and Kate sat court-side alongside Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and his wife Emilia Fazzalari. They were also joined by Maura Healy, the Governor-elect of Massachusetts, and Celtics Legend Thomas ‘Satch’ Sanders.

William cast an awkward glance at the big screen while the couple’s faces were shown to the crowd on the big screen – as more ‘USA!’ chants echoed – before both royals grinned and waved.

After the first quarter, William met Ollie Perrault, a fifteen-year-old climate activist from Easthampton, Massachusetts. Ollie was given the ‘Hero Among Us’ award, a prize given during each Celtics game. She was then introduced to William and Kate, who shook hands with Ollie and chatted briefly with her.

The royal couple’s first trip to the US in eight years has been shrouded in controversy over the Buckingham Palace race row – but the couple refused to the let the scandal stop them from enjoying one of the nation’s favorite pastimes.

Just an hour before they arrived at the game, William and Kate spoke an event for the Earthshot Prize, during which Reverend Mariama White-Hammond – the city’s Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space – gave a strong speech in which she told the crowd to ‘consider the legacy of colonialism and racism’, particularly when it comes to their impact on climate change. 

William and Kate wound up with a basketball in their hands as the team warmed up before the game

The Prince of Wales looked to be having a fun-filled evening as he cheered on the Boston Celtics, with his wife flashing him a smile at one point during the game 

The couple had the best seats in the house for the game, which sees the Boston Celtics going up against the Miami Heat

William and Kate appear on the jumbotron at TD Garden and wave to the crowd

William and Kate talk as they walk down the side of the court at the Celtics game Wednesday

Prince William in particular looked to be having a whale of a time, clapping and cheering on the team as his wife flashed him a wide smile. 

However, while the pair appeared to be enjoying the evening’s match-up between Boston and Miami, their attendance at the event will also include several key tributes to the Earthshot Prize and its arrival in the US city. 

In addition to the Hero Among Us award, the Celtics will go green for Earthshot, with branding for the climate change initiative appearing throughout the game.

Their Royal Highnesses will also meet members of the Celtics family, including representatives of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, which provides grassroots programming and strategic funding to local organizations serving at risk or at need populations. 

They will hear about the ‘Curbside Care’ mobile unit, which through a partnership with Boston Medical Center will provide comprehensive, streamlined care to mothers and infants in the first six weeks of life right at patient doorsteps. 

William and Kate applaud while watching the Celtics game on Wednesday night

William and Kate watch the jumbotron during the Boston Celtics game at the TD Garden on Wednesday 

Prince William in particular looked to be having a whale of a time, clapping and cheering on the team as his wife flashed him a wide smile

Prince William and Kate Middleton were seen grinning and cheering as they sat courtside at a Boston Celtics game on Wednesday night, just one hour after their Earthshot Prize launch was dragged into the royal race row

No doubt William and Kate will be hoping the evening’s event – the second in their official list of engagements during their whirlwind three-day trip to Boston – will go off without a hitch, given the awkward moment that took place during the Earthshot launch just hours before the game.

As the Prince and Princess Wales watched on from the wings, Reverend Hammond, who founded a youth organization focused on ‘teaching the history of the Civil Rights Movement’, said: ‘On this day, I invite us all to consider the legacy of colonialism and racism.’

She continued: ‘The ways it has impacted people across the world and its connection, its deep connection to the degradation of land and our planet that we are all seeking to reverse. The stories lost, the species made extinct, but also the persistence of people in the face of oppression and the fundamental dignity of all of our relations.’

Although no mention was made about Lady Susan Hussey – former lady-in-waiting to the Queen and William’s own godmother – who was accused of making racist comments to black domestic abuse campaigner Ngozi Fulani at a Buckingham Palace event on Tuesday night, few could fail to connect the controversy with Reverend White-Hammond’s remarks.

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