Georgetown welcomes royals

WASHINGTON — Prince Charles received the warmest public welcome so far of his U.S. tour Thursday, mingling with more than 1,000 cheering students at Georgetown University and signing a softball.

Arriving for a seminar on faith and social responsibility, Charles spent 15 minutes talking to students and staff who leaned over barricades to catch a glimpse of him offering handshakes to many and a rare autograph on a proffered softball to one young man.

The enthusiastic reception was a welcome boost for a royal tour that has met a muted response in a preoccupied Washington.

Thursday, Charles and wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visited projects in which they have a personal interest.

Charles met representatives of Christian, Muslim and Jewish groups at Georgetown's Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

Earlier, the prince accepted an award for his contribution to architecture at the National Building Museum, donating the $30,000 prize money to hurricane recovery in Mississippi.

Charles and Camilla were due to see hurricane damage firsthand today, flying to New Orleans to meet residents and recovery workers.

Camilla broke her customary public silence during a visit to the National Institutes of Health, making a rare speech after meeting doctors working to treat osteoporosis and patients with the bone disease.

It is an issue close to her heart.

"I first became involved with osteoporosis after both my mother and my grandmother died as a result of this devastating disease," said the duchess, patron of Britain's National Osteoporosis Society.