Prior to their arrival in Boston last week for the Earthshot Prize on Friday, the event had been described as William’s “Super Bowl” – and not by the media, but his own team. They were the ones who built it up that way. Per PEOPLE citing a source “close to the couple”, aka one of their aides, presumably:
"The prize has become the Prince's Super Bowl moment of the year, and he looks forward to continuing to use the platform each year to shine a light on some of the most impactful projects doing amazing things around the world to save our planet's future."
Their arrival in Boston, however, was overshadowed by racism when William’s godmother, Lady Susan Hussey, who’d been freshly appointed as the Lady of the Household by King Charles, repeatedly refused to accept that Ngozi Fulani is British at an event at Buckingham Palace.
Still, if we’re using the Super Bowl comparison, the big game is often preceded by controversy, but by the time kickoff happens, people get distracted by the spectacle. And I guess, since Will and Kate’s team decided to set the expectations so high for their event, the promise was that Earthshot on Friday would go the same way. Not sure it quite when down like that, though.
Kate showed up in a bright green dress that matched the green carpet. The dress was a rental because, of course, Earthshot is about environmental awareness and sustainability. Since joining the British royal family, Kate has often re-worn pieces so this is definitely in her wheelhouse, to borrow a look instead of getting into a whole new outfit.
But how big of a difference does a rented dress make when you consider the event as a whole? During the Earthshot broadcast, many people noticed – and criticised – that while all these VIPs and celebrities were in attendance in Boston with the royal couple, the actual award recipients, the civilian visionaries who are coming up with great ideas to save our planet, connected to the event remotely to reduce the carbon footprint.
What about the resources that are used when you travel an entire event across the ocean? Does it matter if the green carpet is recycled if the green carpet had to be flown from one country to another? Curiously, most of the British tabloids have remained quiet about this in their coverage of Earthshot, even though they’ve in the past screamed at the top of their lungs about other people flying private.
Well, you might say that Will and Kate and all their celebrity guests have a platform, and that platform draws attention, and that’s how to best attract attention for this effort. Or you might say that William and Kate's decision to hold Earthshot in Boston was an attempt to court goodwill in the United States. Both can be true. Will and Kate can care about the planet but also care about their popularity. They’re thirsty. Going to Boston was basically a thirst trap. And the thing about thirst traps for those of us who post them are that…well… sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they’re the Super Bowl and sometimes they’re just a regular season game. I’m not sure Earthshot Boston even made the playoffs.
