Head bowed in reflection, the Duchess of Cambridge, née Kate Middleton, paid her respects at the September 11 Memorial Museum in New York. The sombre engagement came on the final day of her trip to the US with Prince William, which they are making without Prince George.
The royal, who is expecting her second baby next April, placed a large bouquet of flowers at the memorial, which also commemorates the 67 British citizens who died in the atrocities.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge pay their respects at the 9/11 Memorial
The 32-year-old royal wore a double-breasted bright pink Mulberry coat and black gloves to keep herself protected from the December chill, while William held an umbrella, from the Carlyle Hotel where the pair are staying, over her head. They later signed their names on the digital registry which is situated in the museum alongside a recovered piece of steel near the Last Column, which was the last piece of steel to be removed from the World Trade Center site.
It is the first visit to New York for Kate, who has made an effort to pack in as much as possible, meeting Beyoncé and Jay Z at a basketball match. Twitter went into overdrive when the two power couples were introduced, with fans speculating that they were probably planning a match between George and Beyoncé's daughter Blue Ivy. She was also photographed chatting with star player LeBron James and Hillary Clinton.
Everywhere she has been the talk has been of babies. The former US Secretary of State passed on her tips for raising children, admitting she used to sing to her own daughter until Chelsea pleaded with her : "No sing, no sing".
When William flew to Washington to meet with President Obama they had a little chat about the baby on the way. The future King told the US leader that when George was born he was so excited he actually forgot to ask if the baby was a boy or girl.
Even in a city famous for being tough to impress, the royal visit has dominated the airwaves. At the hotel where William and Kate are staying cheers went up on their arrival on Sunday. Carlyle Hotel, where his mother Princess Diana often stayed, was even flying a Union Jack. Meanwhile, the Empire State Building was specially lit up in red, white and blue.
Rebecca Lowe, a British TV personality who presents NBC's coverage of the Premier League, summed up Kate's appeal after they met at a lunch for successful expatriates. She said: "I've got a bit of a girl crush on the Duchess, I can't stop looking at her hair. "She's just wonderful and everything I thought she would be. She's so engaged, but she's just a normal human being."