NEW YORK, April 29, 2026 — In 16 years, no reigning British monarch had set foot in New York City. King Charles III and Queen Camilla made up for the absence in a single day — and the city, characteristically, gave them the full treatment.
From the solemnity of the National 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan to a Harlem urban farm where the King fed chickens with schoolchildren, to the 65th floor of Rockefeller Center, to a glittering Christie’s gala with Lionel Richie and Donatella Versace — Wednesday’s New York itinerary was the city in concentrated form. Every stop a different borough, a different population, a different version of what this place is and what it stands for.
King Charles and Queen Camilla wrapped up their day in New York City at Christie’s auction house for a reception in partnership with his charity, the King’s Trust. The royals were joined by a number of celebrities, including Anna Wintour, Charlotte Tilbury, and Donatella Versace. But before they got there, they covered more ground than most tourists manage in a week.
The Memorial — and the Mayor’s Request
Charles and Camilla’s first stop in New York City was the National 9/11 Memorial, where they met with families of September 11, 2001 victims and first responders. The royals were greeted by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who showed them the memorial and stood by their side as they laid a bouquet of flowers.
Other elected officials in attendance at the memorial were New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill. Sources tell CBS News New York that Governor Hochul had a conversation with King Charles during the visit. According to sources, the governor complimented his speech before Congress and reiterated her message that despite what he may hear coming out of Washington, New York will remain a partner with the UK.
Mayor Mamdani greeted the royals at the memorial receiving line — and later made news of his own by stating publicly that he intended to ask Charles to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the 105.6-carat stone at the center of a long-running dispute over British colonial-era acquisitions.
Harlem, the Farm, and a Future Therapist Who Named Her Plant After Steph Curry
From the memorial, King Charles went uptown — considerably farther uptown than most state visitors tend to venture.
During his visit to New York City, King Charles visited Harlem Grown, a sustainability nonprofit that teaches children how to grow nutritious food with a focus on sustainability. The king toured the farm, planted lavender and mustard greens, fed chickens, and spoke with students.
He observed two kids planting lavender. When asked, a young boy said he would name his plant “Steph Curry,” referring to the NBA player. Charles also joined some children in feeding chickens at the coop. A young girl complimented the monarch on his hair.
“Amazing. Well, I’m very impressed. I really am,” the King told NY1 following the visit.
The King was welcomed by Harlem Grown founder and CEO Tony Hillery and student ambassador Epiphany Adams, a program graduate who shared how the organization helped shape her path from participant to PhD student. Hillery captured what the moment meant beyond the spectacle of a royal motorcade on 134th Street: “This moment is bigger than Harlem Grown,” he said. “Whether in Harlem or the UK, investing in youth, food access, and green space creates stronger, healthier communities. This work is about growing people as much as it is about growing food.”
Founded more than a decade ago, Harlem Grown has expanded from a single garden into a network of urban farm sites across Upper Manhattan providing free locally grown fruits and vegetables to the community. Charles, a decades-long environmental advocate, looked at home in a way that few formal diplomatic backdrops tend to produce.
Camilla, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Winnie-the-Pooh
While the King went north, the Queen went crosstown to Fifth Avenue.
Queen Camilla was at the New York Public Library to promote reading. Dozens from the literary and publishing world gathered in the library’s Trustees Room. The queen was greeted by Anna Wintour. Sarah Jessica Parker and Dr. Anthony Marx of the New York Public Library toured a collection spanning 250 years of shared U.S.-UK literary history. They then commemorated “Winnie-the-Pooh,” which is marking its 100th anniversary.
“The first Americans I knew and loved were the characters I met in my treasured childhood novels: ‘Little Women,’ ‘What Katie Did,’ ‘Charlotte’s Web,'” Camilla said. “I knew even then that books are the best friends you can have, in good times and in bad.”
The library announced last week the Queen would be gifting the institution a new Roo doll to complete the collection of toys that inspired A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories. The original Roo has been long lost, so to mark the book’s centenary, Camilla brought a replica handcrafted in the UK by Merrythought, Britain’s oldest surviving teddy bear manufacturer. Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, Kanga, and Tigger were donated to the library nearly 40 years ago and were originally owned by Christopher Robin Milne, A.A. Milne’s son.
30 Rock, the CEOs, and a Toast to the Transatlantic Alliance
The afternoon belonged to business. King Charles and UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper gathered at Rockefeller Center to meet with business leaders and celebrate the U.S.-UK economic relationship. Among those in attendance were the leaders of Blackstone, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Google, OpenAI, GSK, Comcast, Rolls-Royce, Tishman Speyer, and Octopus Energy.
The United Kingdom is the single largest foreign investor in New York and 20 other states. The two nations invest some $1.5 trillion in each other’s economies, supporting more than 2.5 million jobs.
“We were honored to welcome His Majesty The King to Rockefeller Center in the heart of New York City,” said Tishman Speyer CEO Rob Speyer. “We are proud of our long-term commitment to the UK and continue to invest in London as a core market for our business.”
The Gala — and the King’s Last Joke
To conclude the third day of their state visit, King Charles III and Queen Camilla made an appearance at the King’s Trust Global Gala at Rockefeller Center. The King’s Trust, a charity founded by Charles in 1976, is the UK’s leading youth charity, helping tackle the global crisis of youth unemployment. The gala included a star-studded guest list, with co-chairs Charlotte Tilbury and Lionel Richie.
Lionel Richie, who has worked with the King’s Trust for four decades, introduced the royal. Also present were Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, lifestyle icon Martha Stewart, and fashion designer Donatella Versace.
The King closed his brief remarks by joking that he had “had enough” speeches. “I hesitate to make yet another speech because I have had enough,” he said before emphasizing the “enduring cultural bond” between the U.S. and the UK. He then noted, to laughter, that he was disappointed he would not get to hear Richie sing — adding that Richie “must gargle with port or something.”
In a speech, the King celebrated the King’s Trust charity as well as “the enduring cultural bond” between the US and the UK. He said the relationship between the two countries is “a relationship rooted in shared creativity, enterprise and values, reminding us that we are truly greater together.”
The royals departed from LaGuardia Airport that evening, returning to Washington for the final night of their state visit. New York, as it tends to do, sent them off having seen the city not as it is packaged for visitors, but as it actually is — complicated, layered, generous, and entirely itself.
