Fans compare Prince William and Kate Middleton’s photo in rain to Harry and Meghan’s viral umbrella picture

As Prince William and Kate Middleton are currently on their trip to Boston, fans are comparing the couple’s latest photo to an old image of William’s brother, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan Markle, posing in the rain.

The Prince and Princess of Wales, who touched down in the United States this week for the first time in eight years, took to Twitter on Wednesday to post about their arrival in Massachusetts. Their visit to Boston is centred around the second annual Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony, which will be held on Friday.

“Boston, what a welcome!” they wrote. “Looking forward to our time in the city, meeting inspiring communities and showcasing our 15 fantastic #EarthshotBoston2022 finalists to the world.”

In one image, Will and Kate could be seen posing with Boston’s Mayor, Michelle Wu, and Massachusetts Governor elect, Maura Healey.

The second image, which has sparked a conversation online, features Wiliam’s back turned as he stands in front of the podium while it’s raining. His wife, who also had her back turned, could be seen standing behind him.

On Twitter, the rain photo is drawing comparisons to an image taken a few years ago of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. More specifically, in one tweet that reposted the image of Kate and William, a Twitter user replied with a March 2020 photo of Meghan and Harry taken while they were walking through the rain.

In the image, Meghan could be seen with her hand wrapped around her husband’s arm as he holds a black umbrella over their heads. At the time, many photos of the pair in the rain made headlines.

Many fans drew comparisons between William and Kate’s image in the rain and that of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

“It was clearly an epic fail … the two aren’t even standing together,” one Twitter user wrote. “This is so sad & pathetic.”

“Not as good as that iconic photograph of Harry and Meghan in the rain,” another wrote. “Photo belongs in the national gallery.”

William and Kate have continued to share multiple images of their trip to Boston on social media, including one of the couple greeting a boy named Henry at Greentown Labs, a climate technology start-up incubator founded in 2011, in Somerville. They also made an appearance at a Boston Celtics basketball game.

Leading up to the ceremony for the Earthshot Prize, which honours and assists entrepreneurs who have come up with solutions to climate change and other environmental issues, Kate will visit The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. On Friday, she’s expected to speak with researchers about advances in science that can ensure a promising future for every child.

As William and Kate kicked off their second day of their US royal tour this morning, Harry and Meghan also made headlines. Their Netflix trailer for their upcoming documentary, Harry and Meghan, also dropped this week.

The royals have divided fans’ opinions about the timing of docuseries trailer, with some claiming that it seemed like the teaser “intentionally” came out while William and Kate are in the US.