NEW YORK: King Charles III declared his “enduring solidarity with the American people” on Wednesday, as he visited the 9/11 memorial in New York as part of a state visit focused on healing strained ties between Britain and the United States.
The four-day US tour, clouded by tensions over the Iran war, began in Washington with President Donald Trump warmly greeting the monarch and his wife Queen Camilla. In New York, the royal couple laid a bouquet of white roses and a handwritten note at one of two reflecting pools that mark where the World Trade Center once stood.
“We honour the memory of those who so tragically lost their lives on 11th September 2001,” the note read, marking 25 years since the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
“We stand in enduring solidarity with the American people in the face of their profound loss. Charles R Camilla,” it added.
They arrived in a convoy of black vehicles and were accompanied by businessman and former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who chairs the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.
Charles, wearing a navy suit, and Camilla, in a black dress, shook hands and spoke with victims´ families, first responders and elected officials. They also briefly met Zohran Mamdani, the leftist New York mayor, who earlier said he would urge Charles to return to India the Koh-i-noor diamond, which the British Empire took in the 1800s.
