King Charles draws warm welcomes and criticisms as he visits Harlem in New York City

Britain’s King Charles III arrived in Harlem on Tuesday (April 29), drawing residents to the streets as he toured the nonprofit Harlem Grown, which promotes urban farming and youth education.

“I’m so surprised he’s gonna come to our neighborhood,” said Harlem barber Roland Bambara. “We’re so happy to welcome him to Harlem.”

Some residents expressed enthusiasm, including visitors from Britain.

“We love King Charles,” said Denise Crane, a London resident temporarily living in Harlem to help her daughter tend to a newborn baby. “It’s fantastic for us to be here when he comes to visit.”

Others voiced skepticism or mixed reactions.

“It generates public interest,” said Tanner English, who works in a Harlem restaurant. “But maybe there are more productive ways to spend tax dollars.”

Photographer Jennifer Gonzales questioned the idea of the king seeking out “common people.”

“You don’t come to Harlem to look for common people,” she said. “If he wanted to mingle with some commoners, he would need to go to Jersey.”

Activist Queen Mother Blakely, also known as Dr. Delois Blakely, used the visit to call on the monarch to support reparations initiatives.

“I’m asking King Charles to cut the check for a farm in upstate New York to teach the youth to farm and feed themselves,” she said.

King Charles is in the midst of his first visit to the United States as reigning monarch.

It was the king's first-ever recorded visit to Harlem. 

His former wife and the mother of his sons, the late Princess Diana, famously visited Harlem Hospital’s AIDS unit in 1989. 

-Aleksandra Michalska/Reuters