NEW YORK—Starting their three-day whirlwind tour of New York, Prince William and Duchess Kate told reporters Monday that they planned to spend the leftover $36.21 in American currency that Queen Elizabeth II had been holding on to since her 2010 visit to the city. “Kate and I are tremendously excited to be visiting New York for the first time, and fortunately my grandmother had some extra bills and coins lying around from her last trip here,” Prince William said, referring to the $20 bill, $10 bill, five singles, and $1.21 in loose change that Britain’s reigning monarch had reportedly kept in a desk drawer alongside some Turkish lira from her 2008 visit to Istanbul. “It was really quite convenient to have some American dollars already on hand, so we didn’t have to run to the currency exchange office right away and could tip the taxi driver who brought us to our hotel.” The prince also expressed gratitude to his grandmother for giving him a subway MetroCard that still had a remaining credit of $11.75.

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