William and Kate Were “Marveling” at Jayson Tatum During the Boston Celtics Game

On Wednesday night, the Prince and Princess of Wales visited Boston’s TD Garden to see the Celtics take on the Miami Heat, originally planning to leave after the game’s third quarter. Despite a few boos and cheers of “USA, USA” when their faces showed up on the Jumbotron, William and Kate were having too much fun to leave and ultimately stayed through the whole game, not looking worse for wear after a transatlantic flight. 

After their British Airways flight landed in the afternoon, William and Kate met with Massachusetts governor-elect Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu and lit up City Hall in green during a rainy public event. Healy and Wu who later joined them courtside at the Celtics game, where they also sat next to Celtics co-owners Wyc Grousbeck, his wife, Emilia Fazzalari, co-owner Steve Pagliuca, and his wife, Judy. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, who is collaborating with William on the Earthshot Prize, missed the public event due to travel issues, but she did make it to the Celtics game. The John F. Kennedy Library later shared a picture of William and the ambassador shaking hands.

Grousbeck told the Boston Globe that William and Kate were excited to stay despite their long day. ”They were going on 22 hours being up,” he said, “and they didn’t want it to stop.” Grousbeck added that the couple were “marveling” at Celtics star Jayson Tatum. A video shared to their social media showed William and Kate introducing themselves to Tatum with admiration in their eyes. 

The event was intended to spotlight the Earthshot Prize in advance of Friday’s ceremony, and a commercial for the prize ran during the first time-out. During halftime, the Celtics’ usual “Hero Among Us” honor went to Ollie Perrault, a 15-year-old activist who founded the organization Youth Climate Action Now. Kate also embraced sustainability by wearing a vintage double-breasted Chanel blazer from 1995 that she last wore in October. The royal blue blazer just so happened to match with the long-sleeved shirts worn by security.

William and Kate last attended an NBA game during their December 2014 trip to New York City, where they saw the Brooklyn Nets take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Afterwards they posed for photos with LeBron James. No royal family member has ever seen the Celtics play, but in 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did get to see the Red Sox face off against the Yankees at an exhibition game in London. 

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