Royals Attend Lavish NY Dinner For St Andrews

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have ended their three-day US tour with a lavish fundraising event to mark the 600th anniversary of the University of St Andrews.

The royals were the guests of honour at the £6,400-a-head event, which was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The event featured a guest appearance by US comedian and chat show host Seth Meyers, who gave a toast in honour of William and Kate.

Opera singer Renee Fleming, a triple-Grammy award-winning soprano, also gave a performance, singing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

Other guests included Princess Eugenie, Vogue editor Anna Wintour and the actress and fashion designer Mary-Kate Olsen.

William and Kate met at the university in Scotland during their student days.

The Duke, who is patron of the 600th anniversary fundraising campaign, spoke warmly of the university's traditions.

"I don't need to tell all of you just how much St Andrew's University means to me and Catherine," he said.

“St Andrew's blend of academic excellence, mixed with a liberal approach to critical thought and creative reasoning, is one that both our nations, on both sides of the Atlantic, credit with importance.

"In particular, St Andrews exists at the pinnacle of a noble Scottish tradition of intellectual freedom and the nurturing - in fact, I would say, flourishing - of arts and science."

Earlier the royal couple visited the National September 11 Memorial and Museum .

Kate was joined by Prince William as the royal couple visited the Ground Zero site during pouring rain on Tuesday.

Sixty-seven British citizens were killed in the 2001 terror attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives.

The Duke and Duchess laid a bouquet of flowers at one of the reflecting pools built in the footprints of the fallen towers.