King Charles and Camilla remember 9/11 victims and meet their families as they visit memorial in New York on third day of historic state visit to the US

The King and Queen left a bouquet of flowers and a handwritten note at the site of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York on the third day of their official visit to the United States.

At the first stop of their busy itinerary on Wednesday, they paid their respects to the victims almost 25 years later at the National September 11 Memorial, where the World Trade Center once stood.

This is Charles and Camilla’s first visit to the monument, which opened in 2011 and serves as a permanent place of remembrance.

They placed an elegant assortment of white flowers at the edge of one of the memorial’s pools, commemorating the nearly 3,000 lives lost and those forever changed by the victims of the 2001 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

This was followed by a moment of quiet reflection, with His Majesty evidently moved by visiting such a touching place.

Next to the bouquet was a note written in the King and Queen’s handwriting: ‘We honor the memory of those who tragically lost their lives on 11 September 2001.

‘We stand in enduring solidarity with the American people and their profound loss. Charles R. Camilla.’

The royal couple also spoke with families of the victims, some of the first responders to the attack, as well as staff present, to learn about the legacy and human impact of the tragedy.

The royal couple also left a handwritten note expressing their “enduring solidarity with the American people and their profound loss.”

King and Queen meet victims’ families and first responders involved in rescue efforts

The bouquet was accompanied by a handwritten note from Queen King stating that they “stand in enduring solidarity with the American people and grieving their profound loss.”

The King met with current New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is known to have little respect for the royal family

At first, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg accompanied them around the site.

Upon their arrival, they were accompanied on a walk around the monument by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who was in office from January 2002 to 2013, shortly after the terrorist attack.

For the engagement, the Queen wore a navy blue crepe silk dress and coat by Fiona Clare and a Britannia red, white and blue brooch belonging to Queen Elizabeth.

Here, His Majesty met with some New York elected officials, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, which excited many American political commentators.

Uganda-born Mr Mamdani is seen as an outspoken ‘post-colonialist’ who has little respect for the Royal Family.

He said of their meeting: ‘I will be attending a wreath-laying ceremony in memory of the more than 3,000 people killed in the horrific terrorist attacks of 11 September. That will be the extent of my meeting with the King and others present.’

His father, the respected academic Mahmood Mamdani, specialized in African and international politics, colonialism and postcolonial studies, and wrote on the lasting effects of British colonial rule in Africa, including Uganda.

Just last month, the Mayor drew parallels between the war in the Middle East and British rule in Ireland.

Queen Camilla warmly embraces a family member of a 9/11 victim

Their Royal Highnesses will also observe a moment of silent reflection to remember the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Charles lined up to meet first responders to the attack, as well as family members of some of the victims.

Charles’ meeting with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani went smoothly

The king spent considerable time speaking to officials and those affected by the 2001 attacks.

The Queen wore a navy blue crepe silk dress and jacket by Fiona Clare for the engagement.

But the King and Queen frequently meet politicians of all political persuasions through their work, and no major ceremony in the city is complete without the Mayor. The meeting seemed to go smoothly with both men smiling.

The couple were also scheduled to meet with New York State and New Jersey State Governors Kathy Hochul and Mikie Sherill, as well as Commonwealth representatives to commemorate the deaths of the Commonwealth family.

The royal couple, who got mixed up with the authorities, disappeared after entering the museum to visit the exhibitions.

Bouquets of flowers were deposited at an installation called Reflecting Absence, twin waterfall pools located in the footprints of the World Trade Center’s north and south towers.

They are located among skyscrapers in an area filled with dozens of swamp white oak trees, and the sound of cascading water creates a sense of tranquility far from bustling Manhattan.

In a somber and poignant moment of reflection, the King and Queen placed their bouquet of white roses by the south pool.

The names of those who died in the September 11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing are placed around the waterfall, which is immersed in a wide basin of approximately 10 meters, with a central cavity of six meters, before the water falls again.

According to the monument’s architect, Michael Arad, the pools represent ‘making absence visible’ and although water flows into the gaps, they can never be filled.

Before their departure, the King and Queen will meet with charities and organizations that support the families of the victims and pass on the legacy of 9/11 to future generations.

Queen Camilla, King Charles III, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived for a state dinner at the White House in Washington yesterday, on the second day of a state visit

King Charles and Mr Trump share a laugh at a state dinner at the White House, where the monarch peppered his speech with jokes including the Boston Tea Party

These groups include Tuesday’s Children, which provides youth counselling, community programs and events, and Queen Elizabeth II, which was opened by Her late Majesty in 2010 as a permanent memorial to the British and Commonwealth citizens who died in the attacks. Representatives from the Elizabeth Memorial Garden will be present.

They will then hold separate events in the city – itself a literacy event and itself an after-school urban farming project and business meeting – before gathering for a star-studded event to celebrate the crème de la crème of Her Majesty, UK and US culture.

They will return to Washington tonight for a formal farewell with President Trump and First Lady Melania at the White House tomorrow morning, before wrapping up their four-day visit with talks in the local community in Virginia in the afternoon, including a fun ‘Block Party’.

This third day of the visit follows a series of meetings in Washington, including Charles’ speech to Congress and a state banquet on Tuesday.

Donald Trump’s speech at the dinner, in which he declared that the King agreed that Iran should never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons, attracted attention from this process.

Trump said: ‘We’re doing a little study in the Middle East right now. And we are doing very well.

‘We have defeated a particular rival militarily and we will never allow that rival to have nuclear weapons – Charles agrees with me, even more than I do – we will never allow that rival to have nuclear weapons. They know this.”

The president’s words were greeted with applause by most of the 120 diners.

Buckingham Palace has moved to correct the fallout from Trump’s claim that it breached protocol against disclosing the King’s private views.

The Palace said this morning: ‘The King is naturally conscious of his Government’s long-standing and well-known position on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.’