Queen Camilla breaks royal protocol at ‘deeply moving’ outing

While many of us were swept up in the pomp and glamour of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s recent state visit to the United States, there was a deeply poignant moment that went unnoticed.

On the third day of the jam-packed trip, Their Majesties arrived in New York City, where they paid a visit to the National September 11 Memorial to lay a floral tribute to the victims of the 9/11 terror attack and speak to first responders and the families of victims.

One such moment was captured on film when the Queen spoke to Anthoula Katsimatides, a trustee of the memorial and museum, whose brother John was working for Cantor Fitzgerald and was just 31 when he died on the 104th floor of The World Trade Centre.

Anthoula showed Camilla a photograph of her brother, then whispered something in the Queen’s ear, which she had to repeat, and then the two women hugged. 

Speaking to press afterwards, Anthoula explained: “I asked could I hug her. She didn’t hear it at first so I repeated myself and she smiled and said ‘of course’. I’m from Queens and am Greek and we hug.”

While it’s not royal protocol to hug members of the public, it’s a tradition that is more frequently broken by royal family members, especially by the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Sussexes, showing a relaxing of the more rigid rules once followed by the late Queen Elizabeth. It is especially poignant when senior royals like Queen Camilla choose to break with protocol, when offering comfort to a woman so closely involved in tragedy.

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Anthoula went on to describe her interaction with the Queen, saying: “John was such a good family man, a lovely man. He was 31 and single and living his best life, He absolutely loved his family and was quite religious. I often say that he was praying when he died. 

“It’s a real honour for them to come and visit to pay their respects… One of the big concerns for us is that a generation is growing up not knowing 9/11 and what happened. So to bring a King here to remember the 25th anniversary is so important.

© Samir Hussein/WireImage

She added: “When I showed the Queen my picture of John she smiled and called him a looker. Which was cute. And she told me she thought this memorial was quite peaceful, she loved the sounds of the running water and the canopy of trees. And said: ‘Does it bring you peace?’ And you know, it does. It’s just nice that she cares enough even to have a conversation. It wasn’t just a ‘hello, you are welcome’. She really listened. She seemed very warm, and beautiful. She has beautiful eyes. She’s a lovely, lovely lady.”

With the 25th anniversary of the attack approaching, officials shared how important it was for the royals to visit and to commemorate and educate people about the atrocity.