The royal couple came to NYC’s Barclays Arena Monday night as part of their three day tour of the U.S. A pregnant Kate Middleton and hubby Prince William had already met with New York’s First Lady Chirlane McCray and President Obama respectively but all anyone wanted to know was would they be hooking up with Jay-Z and Beyonce as the Brooklyn Nets took on Cleveland?
Well, it happened. America’s royal hip-hop couple met Britain’s royal couple for the first time. The Carters graciously walked over from their usual courtside seats to meet the Brits, also sitting courtside but across the court. The Brits sat with an group that included former NBA star Dikembe Mutumbo.
The married couples did meet center court, though it’s hard to tell how much of a conversation they managed to have while surrounded by media and security.
The royal couple also received honorary Cavaliers jerseys from LeBron James including one for their son, Prince George. James, who sported an ‘I Can’t Breathe’ T-shirt along with teammate Kyrie Irving, said he’d hoped to meet the royals that he’d only seen on TV.
When asked if it was pressure to play in front of the future King and Queen of England, Brooklyn Nets player Deron Williams told the NY Daily News “We have Jay-Z and Beyonce at a lot of games. They’re the royal couple of Brooklyn.”
Protesters were on hand to greet the royal couple as well, staging a die-in outside the Barclays Arena to protest the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.
The royals wrap up their visit with a ritzy charity dinner for the University of St. Andrews, the Scottish university where they met and both graduated from.
