Charles and Camilla view New York’s 9/11 sites

By Larry Fine

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife,
Camilla, began an eight-day U.S. trip with a visit to Ground
Zero and the dedication of the British Memorial Garden to honor
victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

After a private tour of the razed site of the World Trade
Center’s twin towers, the royals spent 10 minutes of reflection
among mementos left to honor those that died at the “family
room,” reserved for relations of victims of the attacks.

Sixty-seven Britons were killed in the hijacked airplane
attacks that brought the twin towers crumbling down, killing
2,749 office workers, rescuers and others.

Hundreds of lunch-hour onlookers applauded when a motorcade
delivered the royal couple and New York Gov. George Pataki to
Hanover Square, a narrow triangular park nestled among
high-rise office buildings in downtown Manhattan.

“This is really exciting,” said Deborah Leigh. “I think
it’s great they were able to come here for the dedication. That
was awesome.”

The couple got out of a black limousine and greeted the
crowd before walking through into the memorial garden.

After being presented with a bouquet of flowers by a little
girl in a tartan dress, they greeted dignitaries and then
strolled around the temporary plantings before tugging at
either end of a dark green drape to unveil the center stone,
embossed with the crest of the Prince of Wales.

The garden is expected to cost about $6.5 million to build
with British stone and ironworks.

After the unveiling, Charles and Camilla crossed the street
into the India House, a private club, to meet with 150 guests
and 30 family members of British victims of 9/11.

The prince was making his first official visit to the
United States since 1994, when he came with the late Princess
Diana. He and Camilla are to have lunch and dinner on Wednesday
at the White House.

On Friday, they plan to visit New Orleans, ravaged by
Hurricane Katrina, before continuing on to San Francisco.