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After arriving in New York City, the King and Queen first visited the National September 11 Memorial, 25 years since the attacks on the original World Trade Center. This was their first visit to the memorial since it opened in 2011.
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They were first greeted by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is also the chairman of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. King Charles and Queen Camilla laid a bouquet of flowers on the edge of one of the memorial’s reflecting pools in honor of the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the 2001 attacks, as well as the victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
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A bouquet of flowers with a handwritten note from the King and Queen can be seen on the memorial, which has the names of those lost that day inscribed.
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The royal couple also met some of New York and New Jersey’s top elected officials, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul (seen shaking the King’s hand) and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherill.
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Among the most anticipated meetings was with New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani.
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The King and Queen also spoke with families of victims and first responders who were involved in the rescue efforts after the attacks, as well as currently serving personnel.
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According to The New York Times, “under two rows of white tents, the king and queen spent about 25 minutes listening to stories about how Sept. 11 affected New Yorkers.”
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After visiting the 9/11 Memorial, the King and Queen then went off to separate solo engagements. The Queen visited the New York Public Library’s flagship branch at Bryant Park, where her charity, The Queen’s Reading Room, held a reception. Among the guests was actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who served as a judge for the 2025 Booker Prize, one of literature’s most prestigious awards.
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Continuing with her jewelry trend this week, Queen Camilla wore an important historical piece: the Diamond Britannia Brooch. Mounted in 18-carat white gold, the pin depicts Britannia, the female warrior-goddess and national symbol of Britain with roots in Roman times. Like the Art Deco Brooch, it was also from the Queen Mother’s collection.
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Also during the reception, Queen Camilla met with representatives of local domestic violence charities as well as New York City and State agencies for domestic violence prevention and social services, to learn more about services providing emergency shelter, legal advocacy, and ongoing support for survivors and their families.
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The Queen and Parker took a look at the NYPL’s extensive map collection. Its holdings include upwards of 433,000 sheet maps and 20,000 books and atlases published between the 16th and 21st centuries.
“It’s great for all New Yorkers. We have an opportunity to talk about our libraries and talk about literacy,” Parker said, per the pool report. “I know that the Queen has spent a great deal of time focusing on that in her country. She mentioned there was an opportunity for a sort of bridge project. Our libraries are challenged a lot with funding and support. So I’m thrilled that we get to be in this extraordinary building and highlight this extraordinary repository for these documents.”
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The Queen concluded her visit to the library by reading to a group of local schoolchildren from English writer A.A. Milne’s classic Winnie the Pooh. First published in 1926, the beloved children’s book is celebrating its centenary this year. One of the New York Public Library’s proudest displays is a collection of the five surviving dolls that inspired Milne to write the book. Queen Camilla brought a special gift, completing the set with a replica of the one missing.
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It turns out Camilla was carrying Roo around in her purse the entire visit. When it came time to present him, she simply pulled him out of her handbag and he was presented on a Union Jack pillow.
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King Charles, meanwhile, went on his own uptown to Harlem Grown, an after-school nonprofit in Upper Manhattan that transforms abandoned urban lots into sustainable farms to address health, education, and food access challenges facing children and families in the neighborhood.
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The block of West 134th Street between Malcolm X Boulevard and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard was closed off to the public, with checkpoints at both ends managed by the NYPD and the Secret Service. But a small group of community members gathered outside the garden’s gates as his motorcade arrived.
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Charles first spoke with founder Tony Hilliery about the Harlem Grown’s mission and its partnerships with local schools and community groups. He also met with students who grew up participating in Harlem Grown’s programs.
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As described by The New York Times pool report, “the students were cutting up fruits and vegetables with brightly colored plastic knives. The King inspected their work while talking to other members of Harlem Grown.”
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King Charles watched schoolchildren take part in planting and irrigation activities and learned about the organization’s hydroponic growing methods, which allow plants to grow without soil, including a “wall of lettuce” on the premises.
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He then joined them in feeding chickens at an on-site coop and observed a food education session in which vegetables grown at the site were prepared to be shared with the wider community.
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Not pausing for a minute, King Charles then made his way back to midtown for a UK-U.S. trade event inside Bar SixtyFive on the top floor of Rockefeller Center. Among the attendees were British-born Google President Ruth Porat, BP CEO Meg O’Neill, and Blackstone CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman.
Rachel King (she/her) is a news writer at Town & Country. Before joining T&C, she spent nearly a decade as an editor at Fortune. Her work covering travel and lifestyle has appeared in Forbes, Observer, Robb Report, Cruise Critic, and Cool Hunting, among others. Originally from San Francisco, she lives in New York with her wife, their daughter, and a precocious labradoodle. Follow her on Instagram at @rk.passport.
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