Britain’s King Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, arrived in New York on Wednesday to commemorate victims of the September 11, 2001.
The royal couple held back tears as they laid flowers at the September 11 Memorial, where waterfall-ringed reflecting pools mark the footprints of the World Trade Center twin towers, destroyed when attackers flew two planes into the skyscrapers.
It is the first time that the royal couple have been to the site, which remembers the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the attacks of 25 years ago.
In a sombre moment during their state visit to the United States, the royals met families of those who died and talked to some of the first responders involved in the rescue attempt, and New York’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg were among the dignitaries at the event.
The visit took place amid very tight security, with a heavy police presence, road closures, checkpoints and helicopters circling overhead.
In the New York sunshine, the King and Queen left a bouquet of white roses beside the deep pools that now commemorate those who lost their lives at this spot.
There is a museum on the site, which is now a permanent memorial, in an open space surrounded by the city’s skyscrapers.
The king and queen’s visit to New York follows a packed day in Washington on Tuesday, when Charles delivered a speech to the U.S. Congress, held a private meeting with President Donald Trump, and sat down with leaders of the U.S. tech industry.
