They Came, They Saw, They Nodded

"I was a Diana fan," said Doreen Howart, a Briton who divides her time between New York and Brighton. "She was very nice and attractive. I also like Camilla, but Diana is a hard act to follow."

Valeria Giannini, a born and raised New Yorker -- and admitted Anglophile -- noted that Camilla "has a nice style about her. It's more elegant and understated. She makes him happy. We all deserve to be happy."

At Ground Zero, one woman came ready with a banner bearing the image of the prince and the Duchess of Cornwall, as Camilla is officially known. It was a souvenir from the couple's wedding, and the woman who held it was besieged by the lone television journalist on hand, desperate for someone who could muster some passion for this brief non-spectacle.

"Was it worth it?" one reporter asked, once Charles & Co. had zoomed away. "Oh, yes!" the woman dutifully replied.

"Did you see anything?" the reporter pressed. "I think I saw a waving hand!" the Banner Lady chirped.

Others mostly shrugged. "We were just staring out the window and wondering what the commotion was," said Sean Joyce, who works for a financial research firm that overlooks Ground Zero. "Most New Yorkers aren't impressed by much of anything. Except the Yankees. But they're our team. Prince Charles -- he's on someone else's team."

That team, British Royalty, apparently does not like to speak in public. It arrives. It smiles. It nods. And it might mumble something vague and incomprehensible before it floats by in a cloud of privilege and a scrum of people-in-waiting.

Their Royal Highnesses arrived at the Museum of Modern Art at 6:38 for a cocktail reception hosted by the British consul general on the recently renovated building's mezzanine.

Camilla wore a lapis blue velvet cocktail dress by Anthony Price with a portrait collar lined in ivory. Charles wore a navy suit. The guests, entertained by a high school jazz band from Staten Island, were a mix of media elite, industry titans and supporters of the arts. And there were a few socialites, mostly notable for their freshly blown-out hair. Among the earliest arrivals was Judith Jamison, director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, which recently finished a five-week tour in Britain. "I'm excited about the idea of meeting royalty," Jamison said. "I've never met a prince before. I hope I get to shake his hand."

Yoko Ono arrived in black trousers and a flying saucer of a hat. She had met both the prince and Camilla before and declared them "very beautiful people." If anyone was pressed to offer an opinion of Camilla, he or she either reiterated a few pleasantries or stared at the questioner in a quiet state of alarm.

The choices at the bar were limited to champagne, white wine and sparkling water; the hors d'oeuvres ranged from deviled quail eggs to grilled vegetables on toast.

In a gallery dominated by Cy Twombly's "Four Seasons" and Barnett Newman's "Broken Obelisk," the royal couple worked the crowd separately, each clutching a glass of water with a lime slice. Camilla chatted with Henry Kissinger; the prince listened attentively to three longhaired blondes in nearly identical Chanel-style jackets.

Staff writer David Segal contributed to this report.