Royal princes take to trading floor for annual event to raise money for charity in honor of 9/11 victims, on the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.


Prince William and Prince Harry put a positive spin on a day of mourning today, as they attended a funeral for a close friend, remembered the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and became royal stockbrokers doing billion-euro deals to raise money for charities.

No sign of Duchess Kate or Prince George, but there was lots of good-natured joshing directed at Will, 31, from his cheeky brother, who turns 29 this weekend, about "baby chat" on the phones at a City brokerage where the royal duo at one point concluded a 25 billion-euro deal,The Telegraph reported.

This is an annual charity event in the City, London's financial district, for BCG Partners Brokerage, which lost 658 employees in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001. The princes have pitched in before, and other celebs, such as actor Idris Elba and singer Rod Stewart, take part, too.

Will and Harry, dressed in smart suits, took to the trading floor and phones for about an hour, pretending to be "masters of the universe" as brokers around them laughed and cheered them on. They went after big deals to raise money for charities they champion in memory of the 9/11 victims.

But they couldn't help ribbing each other and the traders at the other end of the phone lines who couldn't believe they were doing deals with the second- and fourth-in-line to the throne.

"It's all a wind-up, I'm Gary," joked Will in one exchange with a trader.

At another point, when they were on a joint call, Harry joke-complained to the traders at the other end that Will was spending too much time talking about his new son. "It's all baby chat," Harry crowed.

But Harry turned out to be skillful at wheedling more money out of traders. "150? Why don't we make that 200?" he said."200? Done."

After the event in the City, the brothers went to Essex where they joined their father and stepmother, Prince Charles and Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, at the funeral of Hugh van Cutsem, one of Charles' closest friends whose sons are close friends of Will and Harry. Van Cutsem died last week at age 72.

Later, Harry attended a gala at the Dorchester Hotel in London for WellChild, one of his charities, to hand out awards to "inspirational" children battling cancer and other diseases.

The AP reported that Harry told guests at the event that it's "fantastic" being an uncle. He said he visited his new nephew George recently while he was taking a bath and "it was the first time I'd seen him smile."