Prince William to Visit DC for a Few Hours in December

A frequently photographed British man will pay a brief visit to Washington next month to participate in a World Bank conference on wildlife trafficking, according to a press release issued Friday by Clarence House, one of the Windsor family’s official residences.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, better known as William and Kate, are making their first US visit since 2011 in December, but will be spending most of that time, as European aristocrats are wont, partying in New York. (Seriously: Their schedule is built around the University of St. Andrew’s 600th anniversary gala dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and attendance at an NBA game.)

But William will be sneaking away on Monday, December 8, to attend meetings at the World Bank in his capacity as president of United For Wildlife to advocate for stronger prosecution against the illegal transport of animal parts across international borders. And don’t count on him doing any midday sightseeing—the World Bank summit includes a “working lunch” about the ivory trade. Clarence House says William and Kate will attend their basketball game that evening. Considering Kate is not scheduled to leave New York, that most likely means the Cleveland Cavaliers-Brooklyn Nets matchup, and not the Wizards’ meeting with the Boston Celtics at the Verizon Center.

What a pity. This upcoming jaunt will be the royal couple’s first visit to either Washington or New York, and it appears William’s entire time in the city once torched by troops loyal to his ancestors will be spent in Foggy Bottom conference rooms.

There’s also no word from Clarence House if William and Kate are bringing along one-year-old Prince George. The couple are expecting the birth of the tiny tyrant’s spare next April. Washington’s weakness for our nation’s former oppressors was last satisifed in May 2013, when William’s spare, Prince Harry, visited Capitol Hill and Arlington National Cemetery.

Find Benjamin Freed on Twitter at @brfreed.

Benjamin Freed

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.