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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Queen to visit ground zero

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip  at the races in Toronto on Sunday.  (Associated Press)
Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

LONDON – Queen Elizabeth II will visit ground zero for the first time and make her first address to the U.N. General Assembly in over half a century when she arrives in New York City on Tuesday.

The 84-year-old monarch, accompanied by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, will lay a wreath at the former site of the World Trade Center to pay tribute to victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks, including 67 British citizens. On Tuesday the queen will also make her first speech to the 192-member General Assembly in more than half a century. She was 31 years old when she last addressed the U.N. in 1957 – just four years after she was crowned queen, and a little more than a decade after the organization officially came into existence.

The monarch’s U.S. visit is tagged to the end of her nine-day tour of Canada.