In a way, it must be hard to be a king. One day you're praised by the president of the United States, applauded by Congress, and served ravioli with spring herbs and parmesan cream on a golden platter.
The next day, you are essentially rejected by the mayor of New York, who makes it clear that a) he doesn't want to meet you privately and b) he thinks you should return a diamond that your ancestors took from a 10-year-old Indian boy.
That was the situation King Charles III faced in the largest US city on Wednesday when he arrived to attend a wreath-laying ceremony for the victims of September 11. The visit came just a day after Charles had received applause in Washington, where his easy rapport with Donald Trump and his well-balanced speech to Congress were seen as a step towards repairing relations between Britain and the US.
But while Charles may have charmed Trump, lavish gifts and Boston Tea Party banter were not at all in the style of Zohran Mamdani, the socialist mayor of New York who was elected on a promise to rein in the elite and whose father is one of the most renowned scholars of colonialism.
From the moment the ceremony at the World Trade Center memorial was announced, Mamdani’s staff made it clear that he would not have a private meeting with the king.
“The mayor will not meet privately with King Charles. But he will attend the wreath-laying ceremony,” his spokesman said.
If there were a private conversation, Mamdani said he would urge the king to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond, a 106-carat stone that sits in the Queen Mother's crown and has been the subject of a dispute over ownership since 1849. Critics say it was wrongfully taken from Duleep Singh, a 10-year-old Indian maharaja, after the British invaded his kingdom.
Buckingham Palace did not comment on whether the diamond would ever be returned.
At the 9/11 memorial, Charles and Camilla were joined by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, not Mamdani, as they toured the memorial pools and laid a wreath. However, when the king and mayor met briefly, they were seen shaking hands and smiling during a brief conversation.
The visit to New York also took place under tight security following the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the weekend. Media access was limited, so Charles was not asked about his brother Andrew's connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After the ceremony, the king visited a community urban farming project in Harlem, while Camilla went to the New York Public Library, where she donated a toy kangaroo to the Winnie-the-Pooh character collection.
Meanwhile, many New Yorkers reacted with indifference to the royal visit. Some complained only about the transportation restrictions.
“It’s like a CIA operation down here,” said a city resident near the 9/11 memorial, adding that people were being checked at every subway exit.
However, she didn't seem very excited about the royal family's visit.
"I'm neutral about them. They don't affect my life. They do their own thing," she said, adding that she doesn't believe the US should be governed by a hereditary monarchy.
