King Charles and Queen Camilla Lay Flowers at New York’s 9/11 Memorial

King Charles and Queen Camilla laid flowers at the September 11 Memorial in New York during their state visit to the United States, in a sombre moment that marked the first time the royal couple had been to the site.

“LOWER MANHATTAN, New York (WABC) -- King Charles III and Queen Camilla kicked off their trip to New York City on Wednesday with a visit to the National 9/11 Memorial, where they honored victims of the 2001 attacks and spoke with relatives of those who died”

ABC7 New York

The BBC described the memorial as remembering “nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the attacks of 25 years ago,” and said the King and Queen met families of those who died and talked to “some of the first responders involved in the rescue attempt.”

ABC7 New York

The ceremony took place with “very tight security,” including “road closures, checkpoints and helicopters circling overhead,” as the King and Queen left a bouquet of white roses beside the deep pools.

A handwritten note at the memorial said: “We honour the memory for those who so tragically lost their lives on 11th September 2001. "We stand in enduring solidarity with the American people and in the face of their profound loss. Charles R Camilla."”

The AP similarly reported that Charles placed an arrangement of flowers at the National 9/11 Memorial and that the royal couple spoke with victims’ relatives and first responders before traveling to other events.

ABC7 New York added that Charles laid flowers on the parapet and that the royal couple “did not make any public remarks at the memorial, in keeping with tradition.”

The visit was also framed by the AP as taking place ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks, with the memorial plaza and streets closed to the public and security measures including “Police snipers perched on rooftops” and “Heavy trucks were used as blockers to close off intersections.”

Beyond the memorial, the royal trip carried into the political realm, with the BBC reporting that the importance of the 9/11 attacks had been raised by King Charles in his speech to the US Congress on Tuesday.

The BBC quoted the King saying: “This atrocity was a defining moment for America and your pain and shock were felt around the whole world,” and it said he called on US lawmakers to maintain support for Nato while giving the example of how Nato members had rallied to help the US in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

AP News

The BBC also quoted the King telling Congress that “the same unyielding resolve is needed for the defence of Ukraine.”

The BBC then described a diplomatic complication involving President Donald Trump, who seemed to suggest that the King would have followed his approach on Iran, quoting Trump: “I think if he were doing that, if that were up to him, he would have probably helped us with Iran.”

The New York Post reported that Charles did not deliver any remarks during the arrival ceremony and that the move to allow him to speak to lawmakers followed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision not to back President Trump’s war in Iran.

The New York Post added that Trump said, “No tribute could be more appropriate,” about allowing the King to address Congress, and quoted Trump saying, “He’s going to be addressing Congress and I’m going to be watching.”

It also quoted Trump describing the moment as a direct descendant of King George III speaking to the direct successor of the body that gathered in Independence Hall on July 4, 1776.

Town & Country Magazine placed the King’s 9/11 remarks in the context of NATO and the United Nations Security Council, quoting Charles: “In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time, and the United Nations Security Council was united in the face of terror, we answered the call together.”

As the trip moved through New York City, the King and Queen split into separate engagements that connected to education, food and literacy.

“King and Queen lay flowers at 9/11 Memorial in New York King Charles and Queen Camilla laid flowers at the September 11 Memorial in New York, in a sombre moment during their state visit to the United States”

BBC

The AP reported that the King toured an after-school, urban farming effort in Harlem at Harlem Grown’s 134th Street Farm, where he planted lavender and mustard seeds with children, saw a chicken coop and watched a live food demonstration about food and nutrition.

The BBC likewise described King Charles heading to an education and healthy food initiative in Harlem called Harlem Grown, where he helped a group of children feed some chickens and planted lavender and mustard greens.

For the Queen, the BBC said she visited the New York Public Library to highlight the importance of literacy, and it quoted Camilla explaining how books could open up the world, including: “The first Americans I knew and loved were the characters I met in my treasured children's novels: Little Women, What Katy Did, Charlotte's Web.”

ABC7 New York reported that from there, Queen Camilla stopped at the New York Public Library, where she delivered a new Roo doll to add to the library’s collection of Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animals.

ABC7 added that the queen chatted with actress Sarah Jessica Parker during a walk through the building as a crowd watched from across Fifth Avenue, and it said the stop came as part of the royal couple’s four-day trip to mark 250 years of American independence.

People magazine described the day’s reception at Christie’s as part of a four-day state visit and said the schedule began with the National September 11 Memorial before the couple split for solo engagements including Harlem Grown and the New York Public Library.

Elle also described the Queen’s New York Public Library appearance alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Anna Wintour, and it quoted Camilla’s literacy remarks about childhood novels including “Little Women, What Katy Did, Charlotte's Web.”

The royal day in New York culminated in a star-studded reception tied to the King’s Trust, with multiple outlets describing both the setting and the King’s remarks.

People reported that King Charles and Queen Camilla ended their day at a “Greater Together reception” held at Christie's, a British-founded auction house, and said the gathering was hosted in partnership with The King's Trust.

CNN

People quoted the King saying: “It's a wonderfully proud but extraordinary moment to think that it's 50 years since I started this trust,” and it included his line: “I won't see the long-distance future, but I'm enormously grateful to you all for what you can all do as supporters to help this vital endeavor, to champion the next generation.”

Daily Express similarly described the King giving the third speech of his four-day state visit on Wednesday evening, joking: “I hesitate to make yet another speech.”

Daily Express also quoted the King referencing his health treatment, saying he continued to undergo treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, and it included his remark: “as we look to the future, I won't see the long-distance future” as he urged support for “the next generation.”

The Daily Express account placed the reception at Christie’s in New York and said it was held to showcase UK’s cultural importance in the Big Apple and across the States, with the party including Lionel Richie, Anna Wintour, Stella McCartney, Katherine Jenkins and Charlotte Tilberry.

People added that the event included attendees such as Martha Stewart, Anna Wintour, Iman, Karlie Kloss, Lionel Richie, Stella McCartney, Nina Dobrev, Meghann Fahy, Leo Woodall, Jasmine Tookes, Donatella Versace and Charlotte Tilbury.

People also reported that the King spoke at the event about the trust’s history and said it was “50 years since I started this trust,” while it described the royal couple touring the “Great Together Soft Power Display” with British Ambassador Sir Christian Turner.

In the same reception context, Daily Express quoted Lionel Richie, a King’s Trust Global Ambassador, saying: “I can assure everyone I'm not singing tonight. This is an honour.”

While the current trip centered on New York engagements, HELLO! Magazine placed King Charles’s US presence in a longer timeline that began decades earlier and included earlier visits as Prince of Wales.

“King Charles gave the third speech of his four-day state visit to the US on Wednesday evening, joking: "I hesitate to make yet another speech”

Daily Express

HELLO! said Charles and Queen Camilla were spending the week in the United States and that Charles’s first trip to the United States came back in 1970, when he was aged 21.

Daily Express

It reported that Charles and his sister, Princess Anne, were in the country from 16 to 18 July 1970, spending time in Washington D.C., and it said the then US President, Richard Nixon, attempted to set the royal up with his own daughter, Tricia.

HELLO! quoted Nixon speaking ahead of the visit, saying: “The fact that the visit is a personal visit and not an official visit is an indication of the closeness between the United States and Great Britain and the British Commonwealth, and also between the family in this house and the family in London.”

The magazine also quoted Charles reflecting on the moment in 2021, telling CNN: “That was quite amusing, I must say. That was the time when they were trying to marry me off to Tricia Nixon.”

HELLO! described highlights of the 1970 trip including Charles visiting the Patuxent Center for Wildlife Research and Propagation of Endangered Animal Species, visiting museums and Capitol Hill, and watching a baseball game with the Washington Senators playing.

It also included a quote from David Eisenhower, the grandson of former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, saying the baseball game wasn’t a “highlight” for Charles and explaining: “The baseball game was not very well planned actually, and I would say this was not one of Prince Charles’s highlights.”

The magazine added that Charles visited the US numerous times while serving as Prince of Wales, including a 12-day tour in 1977 visiting Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston, and it said he met Ronald and Nancy Reagan in 1981.

It further stated that in 1985 Charles and Diana went to Washington D.C. and Palm Beach, and that in 1986 Charles visited twice, once in California and Texas and the second time to attend the 350th anniversary of Harvard.