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Prince William, Catherine honor their alma mater during final NYC stop

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Prince William and Duchess Catherine wrapped up their New York visit with a glittery gala in honor of their alma mater.

The duke and duchess of Cambridge attended a 600th anniversary gala for the University of St. Andrews at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Tuesday night, where they met with donors and alumni of the storied Scottish institution.

The couple, who touched down in the Big Apple on Sunday, have been in New York to promote their Royal Foundation. The three-day trip is their first to the city and their second to the former colonies since their lavish wedding in April 2011.

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Prince George’s parents donned their finery for the ritzy dinner, which took place under the Met’s ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur.

William wore a tuxedo, and the pregnant fashion icon slipped into her twice-worn midnight blue Jenny Packham gown and accessorized with emerald and diamond earrings at the event, which was created to support scholarships for underprivileged students and invest in the university’s media and science faculties, sports centers and lectures in American literature.

“Late Night” host Seth Meyers, William’s cousin Princess Eugenie, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and actress-turned-fashion designer Mary-Kate Olsen and her fiance Olivier Sarkozy also attended the gala.

William, 32, the second in line to the British throne, gave a glowing speech touting his alma mater, which is where he met his wife, the former Kate Middleton, in 2003.

“I don’t need to tell all of you just how much St. Andrew’s University means to me and Catherine,” he started. “It goes without saying to all of you in this room that the education we received there was first class ... but it’s often said by the undergraduates of St. Andrews that you leave the university in either one of two states: either married or an alcoholic. Fortunately for Catherine and me, we ended up married.”

He added that the university “will always be a very special place” for them and said they “have the warmest of memories” of their time as undergraduates and the friends they made there.

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They both earned master of arts degrees at St. Andrews -- his in geography and hers in art history.

Earlier Tuesday, the couple visited the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. Wills and Kate paid their respects to the victims of Flight 93 by laying a bouquet of white roses on a bronze panel embossed with the names of the dead. Later that afternoon, they attended events with children and various leaders of industry.

At an “Innovation is Great” engagement, William revealed to LittleBits CEO Ayah Bdeir that Prince George had already taken a liking to his iPad.

“He told me that his son George has been playing iPad games and loves them, and that this was a good way to teach him the inner workings of electronics,” Bdeir said later.

William also visited the observation deck of the Empire State Building with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.

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