King Charles and Queen Camilla visit 9/11 Memorial in New York on third day of US state visit

King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in New York as the midpoint of a four-day state visit that also included bilateral meetings, a speech to a joint session of Congress, and a White House state dinner hosted by President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump. The New York Police Department warned of road closures and delays across Manhattan and advised residents to allow extra time and use public transportation.

At the 9/11 Memorial, the couple participated in a wreath-laying ceremony attended by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, first responders, and victim families. The visit came ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks. Nearly 2,800 people were killed in the World Trade Center attacks, 67 of whom were British, according to CNN. Queen Elizabeth II visited the site in 2010 and officially opened what is now named the Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden, which honors the memory of British citizens who died, according to NYC Parks.

Charles then traveled to Harlem to visit an after-school urban farming initiative serving young people affected by food insecurity, while Camilla attended a literary event at the New York Public Library, where she delivered a new "Roo" stuffed animal to join the library's collection of original Winnie-the-Pooh dolls owned by A.A. Milne's son Christopher Robin in the 1920s, as the character turns 100 this year, the Associated Press reported. Charles later attended a US-UK trade and business event and a reception for the King's Trust, the charity he founded in 1976.

The New York stop followed a day in Washington in which Charles addressed a joint session of Congress — only the second time a British monarch had done so — praising NATO, calling for support of Ukraine, and referencing Magna Carta's principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly thanked Charles for the Ukraine reference, which drew a standing ovation. Charles also referenced the first invocation of NATO's Article 5 collective defense clause following the September 11 attacks. Trump later told reporters, "He made a great speech. I was very jealous," according to CNN.

The state dinner produced a diplomatic episode when Trump said during his remarks that "Charles agrees with me even more than I do. We're never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon," appearing to reveal a private conversation about Iran's nuclear program. Buckingham Palace responded by saying the position aligns with the British government's "long-standing and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation." CNN noted that British monarchs are constitutionally bound to remain above politics and that longstanding convention discourages revealing private conversations with the monarch. The dinner also produced lighter moments: Charles joked that without Britain, Americans would be speaking French — a riff on Trump's earlier comment about European countries speaking German — prompting French President Emmanuel Macron to respond on social media: "That would be chic!"

Coverage of the congressional address diverged by outlet emphasis. CNN focused on Charles's defense of NATO and Ukraine as an implicit challenge to Trump administration positions. The Washington Examiner examined the address as a layered message, noting Charles's references to Magna Carta and checks and balances as a "corrective" aimed at the president, while also describing the evening's humor and the gift of a bell from HMS Trump, a World War II submarine. The Associated Press provided a more procedural account of the New York schedule, leading with the 9/11 Memorial visit and Camilla's library appearance.