NYC readies for a royal visit as Prince Harry makes inaugural official trip to US

NYC readies for 1st official visit by Prince Harry

NEW YORK — Prince Harry is marking his first official visit to the United States on Friday with a stop at the World Trade Center site, a garden memorializing British Sept. 11 victims and a veterans center in Manhattan.

The 24-year-old prince will meet with relatives of four people who died in the 9/11 attacks at a spot at ground zero that overlooks the Sept. 11 memorial. Dozens of construction workers perched atop a makeshift stand at the site to await the prince.

Before his arrival, a wreath of peonies and yellow and white roses was laid on a stand, with a handwritten note from the prince attached just inside the site.

“In respectful memory of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, and in admiration of the courage shown by the people of this great city on that day,” the note read. It was signed, “Harry.”

Among those attending the trade center site were Gov. David Paterson and Port Authority Executive Director Christopher Ward.

“It’s a very special visit,” Ward said. “Obviously, the history of the United States and our partnership in fighting wars around the world makes it even more special.”

The prince was to formally name the British Garden in downtown’s Hanover Square to honor the 67 British victims of the terrorist attack, then visit the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Manhattan to tour the prosthetics facilities and a clinic that treats people with post-traumatic stress disorder.

A British soldier who lost both legs in an explosion in Afghanistan is accompanying Harry on his two-day trip to New York.

Harry, the younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, is third in line to the British throne.