Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla commemorated victims of the September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attack on New York on Wednesday, laying a floral bouquet at the memorial where the World Trade Centre’s twin towers once stood.

The royal visit to lower Manhattan came at a time of tensions between Britain and the US, with President Donald Trump having criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what he says is his lack of help in ‌the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

Michael Bloomberg, a former New York mayor, walked the king and queen to one of the reflecting pools that outline the footprints of the 110-storey towers destroyed when al-Qaeda militants flew two planes into the skyscrapers.

Charles laid a bouquet of white lilacs, daffodils and peonies on the bronze parapet surrounding the pool, engraved with the names of all the fatal victims of the attack.

A note accompanying the flowers, in the king’s handwriting, read: “We honour the memory of all those who so tragically lost their lives on 11th September 2001, and stand in enduring solidarity with the American people in the face ⁠of such profound loss. Charles R Camilla R.”

The three stood silently before heading into a canopy to meet with guests including relatives of some of the nearly 2,800 people killed in ‌New York that day.