When Prince William and Kate Middleton alight on the Big Apple for the first time this Sunday, they'll be swathed in a star-studded New York inner circle, filled with old pals and glitzy new
"Kate and William have given up the London party circuit since becoming parents," says Matthew Bell, an editor at Tatler magazine, the upper-class English gossip bible. But with baby George tucked in safely at Kensington Palace during this hop across the pond, Bell says the future king and his five-months-pregnant wife are looking forward to letting down their hair in New York, where they'll be staying at Upper East Side hotel
The couple, expecting their second baby in April, even have an official New Yorker in the family: Will's 24-year-old cousin Princess Eugenie (daughter of Prince Andrew and Duchess Sarah Ferguson) moved to Soho in September 2013. When she's not teaching Will and Kate, both 32, how to party in Brooklyn or order a slice, she'll be mingling with them at a reception for American Friends of the Royal Foundation on Sunday.
Princess Eugenie of York (from left), Alexander Gilkes and designer Misha Nonoo.Photo: Courtesy of Swarovski
Will and his brother Harry are reportedly particularly close to Eugenie. (They all toured Graceland together last May.) Her NYC-based boss, Alexander Gilkes, co-founder of auction house Paddle8, also has strong ties to the royal family. A handsome scenester who's always impeccably turned out, Gilkes is a regular on the New York party circuit. Kate's brother James Middleton attended his wedding two years ago to fashion designer Misha Nonoo, and Gilkes' brother, Charlie, attended Eton with Prince William and even dated Kate's sister Pippa.
But during their whirlwind trip, Will and Kate are also expected to hobnob with those well outside their aristocratic circle — including local pop stars, politicians and titans of business.
"They're fantastic ambassadors," enthuses Euan Rellie, a British banker and socialite based in NYC. The famously down-to-earth couple will even take a page from the playbook of Will's mom Princess Diana, who loved being in the spotlight during her five New York visits and famously twirled on the dance floor with John Travolta during a stateside trip in 1985.
The royals will meet with NYC's own royal couple on Monday night.Photo: Marion Curtis/Startraksphoto.com
On Monday night, Will and Kate are expected to meet with NYC's own royal couple, Jay Z and Beyoncé, at Brooklyn's Barclays Center to launch a collaboration between the NBA and William's foundation, United for Wildlife, which supports conservation in Africa.
"William is as passionate about protecting elephants and rhinos from being poached as his mother was about banning land mines," says a friend of the pair speaking on condition of anonymity.
There are commercial reasons for the Brooklyn visit, too: Recent NFL games at London's Wembley Stadium have been a cash cow for the city, and the UK is keen to host the NBA.
On Tuesday night, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will dine with celebs including Sting, Sean Connery, and Mary- Kate Olsen and her banker boyfriend Olivier Sarkozy (brother of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy) during a fund-raising gala at the Met for Will and Kate's alma mater, St Andrews University, where they met.
Mary-Kate Olsen and banker boyfriend Olivier Sarkozy.Photo: Patrick McMullan/PatrickMcMullan.com
The extravagant 450-person benefit, held inside the museum's Temple of Dendur, will host a constellation of NYC moguls and luminaries who've shelled out up to $100,000 for a table and the chance to see Connery play emcee and Sting serenade the regal pair.
Guests will include Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat, whose daughter Alli is a student at St Andrews; Cartier chief executive Stanislas de Quercize; Alastair Borthwick, head of global commercial banking for Bank of America Merrill Lynch; and George David, the former chairman of United Technologies, who endured a messy divorce from a Swedish countess in 2009.
Actor Sean Connery will dine with the royal couple on Wednesday night.Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/Startraksphoto.com
But many NY-based St Andrews alums are appalled by the high price of the event.
"I'm not shelling out that kind of money, and none of my peer group is going," a graduate, speaking anonymously, tells The Post. "St Andrews prides itself on being understated and devoid of pomp and circumstance — that's why William went there in the first place. This is about St Andrews boosting its profile on Wall Street."
Also raising eyebrows is Kate's plan to tour a child development center Monday morning with Chirlane McCray, the first lady of NYC and wife of Mayor Bill de Blasio, who's outspokenly anti-elite.
"It hasn't gone unnoticed in London that Mayor de Blasio keeps talking about smashing the status quo, and [he] played Lorde's antimonarchy song 'Royals' on the night of his election victory," says the source.
But other Brits are giddy about Will and Kate's three-day Big Apple tour: "I won't hear a word against them," says Rellie. "They've been the best thing for the royal family brand and they've yet to put a foot wrong."
Larry French/AP Images for Citi
Steve Miller/NYPost
Richard Drew/AP Photo
Samir Hussein/WireImage
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