Prince William set for poignant visit to 9/11 memorial on final engagement in New York
The Prince of Wales will meet with first responders during a visit to the 9/11 memorial in New York City.
Prince William will today meet with the President of Ecuador, Lasso Mendoza, during the UN General Assembly in New York ahead of attending The Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit.
At the summit, which is taking place during New York Climate Week and the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, he will join delegates at the Summit in the Plaza Hotel.
The event will convene previous Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists with policymakers, global business leaders, philanthropists and climate activists to scale their innovative solutions.
During the summit, the fifteen 2023 Earthshot Prize finalists will also be unveiled with a showcase of their trailblazing climate solutions to repair our planet by 2030.
William will be met by Michael R. Bloomberg, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Ambition and Solutions and Global Advisor to the Winners of The Earthshot Prize.
He will address the Summit as part of the morning’s plenary session.
The event will welcome a number of speakers and special guests including: José Andrés, Chef and Founder of World Central Kitchen; Dame Jacinda Ardern, Trustee, The Earthshot Prize; Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore; Emily Chang, Host & Executive Producer, Bloomberg Originals; Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Founder of Breakthrough Energy;
JFK’s daughter Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Australia; Nomzamo Mbatha, Actress, Humanitarian, and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador; Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, The Commonwealth Secretary-General; Maroš Šefčovič, European Commission Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal, will also be present.
The Earthshot Prize’s 2022 Finalists will be there to highlight their progress and impact over the past year, while spotlighting how we Fix Our Climate.
Many of the soon-to-be-announced 2023 Finalists. will also be Inside the summit.
William’s final engagement in New York, The Prince will visit FDNY’s Ten House Fire Station to highlight the work of the city’s first responders and hear about their experiences working in the City.
He will also discuss the importance of mental health in the first responder community.
Whilst at Ten House, The Prince will visit the 9/11 war memorial before receiving a tour of the firehouse. His Royal Highness will then meet currently serving firefighters and representatives from, FDNY’s
Counselling Service Unit to speak to them about their experiences as first responders in the city.
Ten House is located directly across from the World Trade Center site and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. It is home to Engine Company 10 and Ladder Company 10 and is one of only two FDNY firehouses that contains both an engine and a ladder company.
Ten House was also nearly destroyed on September 11th, 2001 - five members of Ten House were killed and the station was severely damaged. Weeks later, they found Ladder 10’s fire truck buried under 40 feet of rubble.
It served as a critical command centre and recovery site in the days following 9/11, and it was two years before the firehouse was fully rebuilt.
The west façade of the building features the FDNY Memorial Wall, a 56-foot bronze bas-relief sculpture depicting a firefighting scene.
The Prince of Wales, a former RAF Search and Rescue and Air Ambulance pilot, remains committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of the emergency services community, which continues to be an important part of his work through The Royal Foundation.
