THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are to be guests of honour at a major fundraising gala benefit at one of New York's most prestigious art galleries in aid of St Andrews University.
The royal couple, who graduated from the university in 2005, will take part in the event at The Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of a whirlwind tour of America next month.
Prince William and his wife Kate, who is pregnant with their second child, will make a quick visit without their son Prince George to the US next month from December 7 to 9. The fundraising event will take place on the final day.
Prince William and the princess began dating at the Fife University and both graduated in 2005. Prince William graduated with an honours degree in Geography and Miss Middleton with an honours degree in History of Art.
Funds raised during the evening will support student scholarships and bursaries, new student sports facilities in St Andrews, investment in the university's medical and scientific faculties and a lectureship in American Literature at St Andrews.
The 600-year-old university, which is the oldest in Scotland, has embarked on an ambitious international fundraising drive to raise £100 million. More than £13m is sought to support bright students who would otherwise be unable to attend university.
St Andrews, founded in 1413, is ranked among the top one per cent of universities globally and third in the UK.
It has a close and historical relationship with the US. Three of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence attended or received degrees from the university, including Benjamin Franklin. Almost 20 per cent of St Andrews' undergraduate students come to Scotland to study from the US.
The couple will be met on the steps of the Met by an honour guard of fellow St Andrews alumni wearing the university's traditional red gowns before attending a dinner in the museum's Temple of Dendur.
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