King Filip visits 9/11 Memorial in New York
King Filip and Queen Mathilde have visited Ground Zero in New York. The Belgian royals are on a two-day visit to New York to mark Belgium’s presidency of the UN Security Council.
King Filip, Queen Mathilde and their children saw the location where the World Trade Centre towers stood before the 9/11 attacks. They placed a rose by the name of the Belgian victim of the atrocity. The Belgian royals were accompanied by police officers involved in the Brussels attacks at Brussels Airport and Maalbeek metro station on 22 March 2016 as a mark of respect for all emergency workers involved in terrorist attacks. They also met with New York police officers.
Belgian airport police officer Karima Douch said she was happy to experience this: “It was good to get the invite and the recognition and compassion for all victims in Belgium and the whole world”.
Her colleague Ben Bergen adds: “It was impressive. You see thousands of names. They have made a beautiful fountain, but you know what it was.”
