World
The NYC Mayor Almost Asked Charles for a Diamond. A Widow Hugged the Queen.
By Mike Harper · May 2, 2026
Mayor Zohran Mamdani had a plan. Before King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived at the 9/11 Memorial on Wednesday morning, he told reporters that if he had a chance to speak privately with the King at a different time and place, he might mention the Koh-i-Noor — one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, currently part of the Crown Jewels, and a source of longstanding grievance for countries that were once part of the British Empire.
Mamdani himself was born in Uganda to parents from India. Both countries have sought the return of the gem. He knew where he stood.
When the King arrived, Mamdani shook his hand, and the two greeted each other warmly. They spoke for only a few seconds. Mamdani did not ask about the diamond. He had said he wanted to keep the event focused on the victims of September 11. He did.
Wednesday was the third day of Charles and Camilla’s four-day state visit to the United States — and the day the trip shifted from the formal ceremony of Washington to something more human in New York. It was the first visit to New York City by a reigning British monarch in 16 years, the last being Queen Elizabeth II in 2010.
The 9/11 Memorial visit was the emotional center of the day. The couple laid a bouquet of white flowers at one of the memorial’s reflecting pools, with a card that read: “We honour the memory of those who tragically lost their lives on 11th September 2001. We stand in enduring solidarity with the American people in the face of profound loss.” They were accompanied by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, chairman of the memorial foundation, as they walked the perimeter of the pools, where the names of the nearly 3,000 victims are engraved.
Then they spent time on a receiving line with about 90 guests — family members of victims, first responders, and local officials. Some relatives held up photographs of loved ones they lost. One woman in a bright purple dress showed the Queen a photo of her late brother. Later, Anthoula Katsimatides, who lost her brother John at Cantor Fitzgerald, described speaking with both royals.
“I found it extremely sweet that I was allowed to hug the queen,” she said afterward. “She was quite endearing, as was the king. I also told him that I thought he was adorable.”
The visit honored the 67 British nationals among the nearly 3,000 killed that day. Queen Elizabeth II had opened a memorial garden in Lower Manhattan in 2010 in their memory — the Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden, which still stands.
After the memorial, the couple split up. Charles went to Harlem, where he fed chickens at the urban farming organization Harlem Grown before meeting with business leaders at Rockefeller Center — a trade event attended by executives from Blackstone, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Google, OpenAI, and Rolls-Royce, among others. The United Kingdom is the largest foreign investor in New York and 20 other U.S. states.
Camilla had a different afternoon. She went to the New York Public Library, where she was greeted by Anna Wintour and joined Sarah Jessica Parker for a tour of 250 years of shared U.S.-UK literary history. She gifted the library a Roo doll — a character from Winnie-the-Pooh, which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its publication this year.
Charles and Camilla wrapped up the state visit Thursday with a formal farewell from Trump before Charles traveled to Bermuda for his first visit to a British Overseas Territory as king.
In Lower Manhattan, the woman in the purple dress hugged the Queen. The mayor kept the diamond comment to himself. The flowers stayed on the edge of the pool.