Mayor Zohran Mamdani was all smiles as he met King Charles III at the 9/11 memorial in Manhattan on Wednesday during a rare royal visit to New York City.
The British monarch — who hasn’t been to New York in nearly 20 years — shook hands and spoke briefly with the mayor, though it’s unclear what they discussed.
The king and his wife, Queen Camilla, paid respects by laying a bouquet of white flowers near the memorial’s sprawling pools before pausing for a somber moment of silence. They then also met family members of those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
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Earlier in the day, Mamdani, was asked by reporters at an unrelated press conference what he would say to Charles if he could talk to him.
“If I was to speak to the king… I would probably encourage him to return the Kohinoor diamond,” Mamdani quipped — referring to one of the worlds’ largest cut diamonds, which was taken from India and is now part of the British Crown Jewels.
The infamous 105-carat gem, which is display at the Tower of London, was mined in India hundreds of years ago — and has a bloody history of violently changing hands among rulers
Critics say the Koh-i-Noor is a “symbol of conquest” and a token of colonial violence.
