Prince Charles and Camilla pay tribute to 9/11 victims

Under unseasonably balmy November sunshine, small but enthusiastic crowds greeted Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as the couple began their first joint trip to the United States by paying tribute Tuesday in New York to victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.

It wasn't exactly the frenzy that welcomed Charles 20 years ago on a U.S. tour that saw his late, radiant wife, Princess Diana, dancing with John Travolta at a White House dinner.

But several hundred onlookers who gathered at ground zero to see the royal couple, who tied the knot in April, were supportive.

"He really does care about people, but a lot of people think, 'Oh, he's a prince, what does he know about us, what does he care?' " said Nancy Hodl, a 59-year-old retired secretary from New Jersey.

On a trip designed to underline trans-Atlantic ties, Charles paid tribute to victims of terrorism and said the attacks in New York in 2001 and in London on July 7 helped strengthen the bond.