Prince William had 'special' interaction with schoolchildren during NYC visit

Prince William made his first stop in his two-day visit to New York city at the Billion Oyster Project on Monday, September 18. There he learned about the helpful ways oysters clean up the waterways around the city and got to learn a few more things about these molluscs from schoolchildren.

The Prince of Wales got introduced to volunteers, students, and restaurateurs involved with the project during the visit by Pete Malinowski, Executive Director of the Billion Oyster Project. He met with students from Harbor Middle School, who had no idea beforehand that they were going to be meeting with royalty.

They were told by their teacher it was someone "very important" and one student guessed it might be "the mayor". But they were surprised to see Britain's future king garbed in waders and a baseball cap.

One of the students, 12-year-old Zelda de Zayas, told People of her encounter with Prince William: "He was just super nice. I don't know what I was expecting honestly, but it was very sweet and he loved to learn."

She added: "He just wanted to learn everything. We taught him how to measure the oysters, we showed him what the different creatures were and more about how oysters help biodiversity in the harbor."

Zayas shared that they only found out that a special guest was joining them after school but their teacher, Lynn Shon, kept the person's identity "a secret for the element of surprise". They were "all super excited and super shocked" to find out that it was Prince William because they had no idea.

Shon, a science, technology, engineering, art and math teacher at Harbor Middle School, shared that the children's interaction with the Prince of Wales was "a lot more comfortable" that she had anticipated. She shared though that some of her students "were really nervous about it, and some of them were more comfortable".

However, "they felt more comfortable" by the time they were all holding the oysters and "showing the prince all the critters in the tank". Shon said of the experience: "Seeing my students teach a prince, someone who has so much knowledge and exposure and awareness of what's happening in the world, sharing their knowledge with him was really special."

Prince William was pictured surrounded by the schoolchildren and sharing a laugh with them. He was also seen wading in the East River during his visit to the Billion Oyster Project. On Tuesday, September 19, he will meet with business leaders, policy makers, philanthropists, and conservation leaders at the second Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit.