THE DUCHESS TAKES HARLEM: Kate Middleton made the first official stop of her three-day New York visit on Monday morning, touring the Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem with the City’s First Lady Chirlane McCray.
The Duchess, who arrived fifteen minutes earlier then scheduled, was greeted by a waiting McCray. The two chatted for a moment with the Duchesses’ back to the press pit, crammed with photographers who’d been camped out for three hours for their shot. “Kate! Kate! Turn around!” they shouted. She ignored them, only turning to wave to her fans across the street before the women walked inside. Fans made much of her footwear, towering black pumps that most five-month-pregnant women would eschew. It’s anticipated she’ll go for something much more comfortable when she and her husband reunite on Monday night to root on the Brooklyn Nets with America’s royal couple: Jay Z and Beyoncé.
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Meanwhile, Prince William will be clueing in Washington insiders to his disdain for the illegal wildlife trade as “one of the most insidious forms of corruption in the world.” At the World Bank Group’s International Corruption Hunters Assistance Conference, the Duke will inform attendees that “some animal endangered species are now worth literally more than their weight in gold,” according to the British Embassy. The Duke will cite the trade in elephant tusks, rhino horns and other animal parts — an issue that politicians like Hillary Clinton as well as fashion types like Christie Brinkley are in unison about.
He plans to make the point that in China the average wholesale price of ivory has increased from $5 to $2,100 a kilogram in the past 25 years and poaching has increased as a result. The duke’s call to action will culminate with, “Our collective goal must be to reduce the wildlife trade by making it harder; denying traffickers access to transportation; putting up barriers to their illegal activities and holding people accountable for their actions.” With former British foreign secretary William Hague expected at his side, the Duke will emphasize how wildlife crime poses a threat to world security as it “exacerbates sources of conflict.” Traffickers of animal parts “loot our planet to feed mankind’s ignorant cravings for pets, trinkets, cures and ornaments derived from the world’s vanishing and irreplaceable” animals.
His D.C. day started with a meeting with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. The Duke and Duchess have much to say about goodwill during their East Coast stay. Shortly after checking into the Carlyle Hotel Sunday night they were off to a private dinner with 15 couples to benefit their Royal Foundation.