King Charles is expected to meet New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in New York during his visit next week, according to two people familiar with the planning.
The unlikely duo will both attend a wreath laying at the 9/11 memorial in downtown Manhattan on Wednesday. The event will also be attended by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other New York government officials, according to the two people, who were granted anonymity to discuss private plans.
Mamdani, son of one of world’s most prominent postcolonial theorists, will have a camera-ready moment when he greets the man whose forebears oversaw the British imperial project that undergirds his father Mahmood Mamdani’s academic career.
The mayor’s team isn’t exactly welcoming the king with open arms.
A Mamdani spokesperson would not confirm the mayor’s attendance at the ceremony and noted there is no private audience scheduled with His Majesty.
“The mayor will not meet privately with King Charles,” spokesperson Joe Calvello said in a statement. “He was invited to join a number of New York elected officials next week at a wreath laying at the 9/11 memorial with members of the British royal family.”
King Charles’ stop at the 9/11 memorial is the kind of standard royal visit fare aimed at reinforcing the countries’ close security partnership and shared sacrifice. New York’s mayor is a natural part of that kind of programming.
One thing the pair have in common: They both get along quite well with President Donald Trump.
A Bloomberg spokesperson referred POLITICO to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, which did not have an immediate comment.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, a founding trustee of the memorial and museum, will also be in attendance.
Joe Anuta contributed to this report.