Thursday, April 30, 2026
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On the way back down from New York City, King Charles and Queen Camilla first stopped at the White House for a brief final farewell to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. The Queen was notably wearing a vintage Tiffany & Co. brooch that the Trumps gave her when they came to the UK for a state visit last September.
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After departing Washington, Charles and Camilla traveled just outside the city limits to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, where upon arrival, they received a 21-gun salute.
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They were then escorted to the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, where they laid a wreath and posy to, per an official briefing, “commemorate the fallen and honor the UK-US military partnership.” The British Embassy in Washington described the gesture as one of the “most symbolically significant acts of remembrance a foreign dignitary can undertake on American soil.”
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Queen Elizabeth also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, seen here, during her first state visit to the United States in 1957.
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After the solemn visit, the couple experienced an entire different atmosphere a few hours later. The royals next traveled to the small town of Front Royal, Virginia for a celebration for America’s 250th birthday.
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Like in New York City, the royals met with local elected officials. Seen here, from left to right: Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, Front Royal Mayor Lori A. Cockrell, the King and Queen, and Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the UK.
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Beekeeping is something of a hidden royal pastime, and it has become a prominent theme on this trip. So it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Queen Camilla stop to talk with a local honey purveyor. Kaylee Richardson, who runs business The Honeystead, told T&C she was “so honored” to meet the couple. “I brought dark honey and light honey because everyone has their preference and he said he preferred the darker honey. They were excited to receive honey from me and I shared a copy of my book with the Queen.”
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In a nod to King Charles’s passion for sustainability, there was also an agricultural display, featuring local farmers, beekeepers, and some Welsh-origin Kerry Hill sheep. The Queen stroked a lamb named Upperville Charles, who had been born the previous day and named after the King himself. Camilla described the lamb as “very sweet.”
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After the block party, Queen Camilla went on a solo engagement to a local Virginia thoroughbred ranch, Smitten Farm, where she met several horses at the farm and learned about their thoroughbred operation. The Queen described it as “a lovely way to finish off this trip.”
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Meanwhile, King Charles went to Shenandoah National Park, one of America’s 63 national parks. He referenced them in his address to Congress on Tuesday: “The natural wonders of the United States of America are indeed a unique asset, and generations of Americans have risen to this calling: Indigenous, political and civic leaders, people in rural communities and cities alike, have all helped to protect and nurture what President Theodore Roosevelt called ‘the glorious heritage’ of this land’s extraordinary natural splendor, on which so much of its prosperity has always depended.”
During his presidency, Roosevelt signed legislation establishing five new national parks, and he has since been described for his efforts as “the conservationist president.”
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During his time in Shenandoah, King Charles learned about about migratory bird programs and met with National Parks staff about their education programs, including their Junior Ranger program.
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King Charles also spoke with members of the Monacan Indian Nation, one of the few tribes in the United States that still occupies its ancestral homeland, to hear about their history and environmental conservation work.
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The state visit concluded with the twinning of Shenandoah National Park and the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland, in recognition of the geological connection between the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountains and the Scottish Highlands. (The royals’ summer retreat, Balmoral Castle, is also situated within Cairngorms National Park.) The King unveiled two commemorative stones, one from Balmoral and one from the Appalachian Mountains, to mark the new partnership.
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
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After departing Washington, D.C., the King and Queen traveled to New York City. They began their day in Lower Manhattan at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum to commemorate the 25th anniversary since the terrorist attacks. They were first greeted by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is also the chairman of the memorial.
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There, they were joined by current New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Despite Mayor Mamdani attending the event, the two men did not meet privately.
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Other New York and New Jersey elected officials also met with the King and Queen, including, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherill.
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During their time at the memorial, the royal couple met with families of victims and first responders who were involved in the rescue efforts after the attacks, as well as currently serving personnel. They also placed a bouquet of flowers on the edge of one of the memorial’s pools, to commemorate those lost both in 2001 but also during the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
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After the first event, King Charles and Queen Camilla each went to separate events. The Queen headed to Midtown Manhattan, where a crowd awaited her outside of the New York Public Library’s flagship branch at Bryant Park on Fifth Avenue.
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The Queen waved to the crowd before entering the famous library, which has been open since 1895. According to The New York Times, Camilla is the first British royal to visit the branch.
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Camilla’s charity, The Queen’s Reading Room, hosted a reception at the famous library, open since 1895, for approximately 100 guests spanning the literary and publishing worlds in the United States and the United Kingdom. The Queen also wore another historic brooch for the occasion: the Diamond Britannia Brooch.
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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