The British are coming!
Prince William and Kate Middleton, the duke and duchess of Cambridge, are headed for Brooklyn next week. The trip will be the royal couple’s first to the borough, part of a three-day New York visit, and while here they plan to catch a Dec. 8 Nets game against LeBron “King” James and his Cleveland Cavaliers.
Not much is public about the posh pair’s plans for the day, but we have some suggestions to round out what is sure to be an exciting stopover for the world’s most famous welfare recipients.
The Chip Shop
The grub at this English pub might be a bit common for the monarchs-to-be — true to the name, fish and chips are the signature item, alongside bangers and mash and shepherd’s pie — but slumming it has a proud tradition among top-hat-wearers for whom polo is a reasonable sport and not a brand of clothing. And with two locations a short carriage-ride from the Barclays Center, it’s an ultra-convenient option. Besides, where else in Brooklyn can a homesick Brit find a treacle pudding with custard?
The Chip Shop [129 Atlantic Ave. between Henry and Clinton streets in Brooklyn Heights, and 383 Fifth Ave. at Sixth Street in Park Slope, (718) 855–7775 and (718) 832–7701, www.chipshopnyc.com].
Kings Plaza
If the couple wants to get some shopping in, we think they should point their royal procession towards Kings Plaza in Mill Basin because, you know, kings.
Kings Plaza Shopping Center (Avenue U between Flatbush Avenue and E. 55th Street in Mill Basin, www.kingsplazaonline.com).
New York Chess and Games
Park Slope’s most prominent chess-and-board-game retailer is conveniently located across Flatbush Avenue from the Barclays Center. It is perfectly positioned for the pair to pick up a chess-set memento that, considering all their free time and disposable income, could have them giving the whizzes at Edward R. Murrow a run for their money before you can say “checkmate.” King them!
New York Chess and Games [192 Flatbush Ave. at Dean Street in Park Slope, (718) 398–3727, www.newyorkchessandgameshop.com].
Prince Hotel
We imagine the couple has pinned down lodging for their visit, but if something falls through, there is always an affordable room at the nobly named Prince Hotel in Bay Ridge. Neighbors’ complaints of rampant prostitution and drug use may sour our esteemed guests on the idea, but then again, they may not. Remember, these high society types like to see what the lower classes are up to. Unfortunately for these two, the city shuttered Downtown’s Princess Hotel, owned by the same guy and much closer to the Rust Bowl, not long ago after finding code violations and signs of the sex trade.
The Prince Hotel [315 93rd St. between Third and Fourth avenues in Bay Ridge, (718) 748–8995, www.princehotelgroup.com].
Prison Ship Martyrs Monument
The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park contains the remains of 11,500 American prisoners who died aboard the British Crown’s prison ships, moored in Wallabout Bay during the Revolutionary War. Not that we have hard feelings about the war crimes of more than two centuries ago, but what better way for the duke and duchess to show respect to the borough than to take a moment to acknowledge the blood that watered their family tree? Okay, maybe we’re still a little sore.
Williamsburg
The neighborhood’s in-progress transformation from humble, working-class townhouses to shiny, glass-and-metal towers mirrors Middleton’s own Cinderella story. Only this peasant-turned-princess isn’t being forced to look 10 stops further out on the L line for an apartment.