Prince William met US President Joe Biden for a “warm, friendly and substantive discussion” before hosting an awards ceremony for his environmental prize.

Kensington Palace said the president was keen to learn about William’s Earthshot Prize and some of the stories from the finalists when the pair met at the JFK Library.

The Prince of Wales also thanked the president for travelling to London for the funeral of his grandmother, the Queen, in September and the pair shared memories of the late monarch.

In an article published hours before the ceremony in the US city of Boston, William described himself as a “stubborn optimist”.

He said he wanted to “supercharge” the impact of his Earthshot Prize finalists to inspire a “despairing world” that there is a way forward.

Singer Billie Eilish will lead the entertainment line-up during the ceremony, which aims to celebrate and scale up environmental solutions to repair the planet.

Former England and Manchester United footballer David Beckham will present one of the five awards, with each category winner receiving £1m to develop their project.

Writing in the Huffington Post, the future king said about the finalists: “The Earthshot Prize wants to find the best of them. We want to celebrate and support them, so that we not only supercharge their positive impact but also demonstrate to a despairing world that there is an optimistic way forward.

“Dire predictions about our natural world aren’t the only side to this story and they don’t have to be our future.”

William described his thinking behind the award and said he was inspired by President John F Kennedy’s successful “Moonshot” ambition to put a man on the moon.

He said: “We face a challenge as seemingly insurmountable as putting a person on the moon: reversing the damage that has been done to our planet, and putting ourselves on a path toward a more sustainable future.

“Repairing our planet is not going to be easy, but the case for taking action to protect our natural world is undeniable.”

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Analysis – Royal visit overshadowed by barrage of bad news

Ahead of the awards William visited the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston with JFK’s daughter and her children Jack and Tatiana Schlossberg, while Kate visited Harvard University to speak with experts in the early years development of children.

Meeting staff from The Centre on the Developing Child, the Princess of Wales said: “There is so much amazing work going on and we need to start sharing the learning and science and what can be done better and be improved to help children in the trajectory into adult life.”

After the visit the Kennedys joined William for a private lunch and discussion with representatives from the Founding Partner organisations of the Earthshot Prize.

Visit blighted by race row

Behind-the-scenes photos at the MGM Music Hall At Fenway showed William and Kate attending a rehearsal for the ceremony yesterday.

The couple’s three-day trip to Boston has been overshadowed by a race row which saw William’s godmother, Lady Susan Hussey, resign as a royal aide after she repeatedly asked a prominent black British-born domestic abuse charity boss where she “really came from”.

It also saw a trailer promoting Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries released yesterday, with the timing being interpreted by some royal commentators as a snub.

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