NEW YORK — Britain's Prince William and his wife, Kate, are making their first official visit to the United States since a 2011 jaunt to California (William made a personal trip to a friend's Memphis, Tennessee, wedding this May with his brother, Prince Harry.) They are due to arrive Sunday for the first trip either has made to the United States' biggest city, and William also is set to visit the nation's capital for the first time. Kate is expecting their second child in April, but the royals' schedule is packed with plans ranging from paying respects at the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum to taking in a Cleveland Cavaliers-Brooklyn Nets game.
Other events promote British involvement in New York's technology and creative sectors and spotlight the couple's charitable interests in wildlife conservation and child development. Among other commitments, William is set to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House on Monday while the duke is in Washington to attend a World Bank conference, where he's speaking about fighting illegal trade in wildlife parks. Meanwhile, Kate will tour a New York child development center with the city's first lady, Chirlane McCray. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton are accompanying both royals to a New York reception highlighting conservation efforts.
William and Kate also are due to join Tom Hanks, opera singer Renee Fleming and others at a black-tie, up-to-$10,000-per-seat scholarship fundraiser for the University of St. Andrews, the Scottish institution where the royal couple met and earned degrees. As an itinerary, "it's trying to cover a lot of points in a short period of time," but it signals the couple's interest in forging ties with Americans who share their philanthropic ideas, says Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine.
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— The Associated Press