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Elizabeth left the site in a motorcade to tour the British Garden of Remembrance, built to honor the 67 Britons killed in the attack. She met their families there.
Tim Rosen, who called himself a "fan of the queen," was angling for a glimpse of her at the corner of ground zero. "She's been through a lot," said the 30-year-old attorney. "She has a certain sense of duty that I like. A very elegant woman."
"There she is!" Patricia Farmer, a real estate project manager, shouted when she spotted her near the garden. "The one in the blue!"
Farmer, who said she was born in Northern Ireland, called Elizabeth "my queen."
But not everyone was so enthused. Roman Shusterman held a sign near ground zero that read, "Queen of British Petroleum," the British company whose rig explosion in Louisiana created the worst oil spill in US history.
"The queen hasn't said anything about it because she thinks she's too good for us," said Shusterman, 28.
Earlier Tuesday, Elizabeth's familiar formality graced the lectern at the United Nations, where she urged the world body to spearhead an international response to global dangers, while promoting prosperity and dignity for the world's inhabitants.
"It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all," she said, while praising the UN for promoting peace and justice.
Speaking as queen of 16 UN member states and head of a commonwealth of 54 countries with a population of nearly 2 billion people, Elizabeth recalled the dramatic changes in the world since she last visited the United Nations in 1957, especially in science, technology and social attitudes.
"In my lifetime, the United Nations has moved from being a high-minded aspiration to being a real force for common good," Elizabeth told diplomats from the 192 UN member states. "That of itself has been a signal achievement."
But she also praised the UN's aims and values - promoting peace, security and justice; fighting hunger, poverty and disease; and protecting the rights and liberties of every citizen - which have endured.
"For over six decades the United Nations has helped to shape the international response to global dangers," the queen said. "The challenge now is to continue to show this clear ... leadership while not losing sight of your ongoing work to secure the security, prosperity and dignity of our fellow human beings."
Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, flew to New York from Canada for the five-hour visit and planned to leave for London later Tuesday.