Charles and Camilla view New York's 9/11 sites
Posted on: Tuesday, 1 November 2005, 16:59 CST
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.
Source: REUTERS
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