January 27-28, 2007 – We spent a very, very posh weekend with British royalty, and we didn’t have to endure a fox hunt, since Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, graciously came to us here in the U.S.

On Saturday the couple checked to see how Philadelphia has fared since 1776, when the U.S. left the British womb. Appropriately, they visited Independence Hall, where renegades signed a paper declaring freedom from English rule, and the Liberty Bell that famously cracked from overzealous use. Charles and Camilla inspected the plumed ceremonial guard that, we were surprised to learn, was an American regiment. The couple also went to West Philadelphia, and attended the venerable Academy of Music’s 150th anniversary celebration, where another royal, Sir Rod Stewart, provided the evening’s entertainment.

Thunderous cheers rang out in a New York City children’s center gymnasium on Sunday, when Charles sank a basketball on his second one-handed shot. The couple chatted with the children. One American journalist was met with a royal assistant’s “how-dare-you address the prince” glare when she asked Charles if he’ll be coming back again to New York. But OAN got a big smile from Prince Charles when we complimented his basketball skills with, “Nice shot!”

Overall, Camilla was the more jovial and warmer of the two. The crowds of curious onlookers in both Philadelphia and New York were surprisingly thin. One British journalist surveying the street outside the Harlem Children’s Zone, remarked, “Not a lot of punters here today.”