Britain's Prince Charles with Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, center, stand on the spot that Rev. Martin Luther King gave his 'I have a Dream' speech during his tour of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall during their visit to Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. With them are from left to right, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer, historian, and political commentator, Michael Richard Beschloss an American historian, and Karen Cucurullo, left, of the National Park Service. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, visited some of Washington's monuments and memorials Wednesday, joining tourists on the National Mall.
The royal couple spent about 20 minutes touring the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial as well as the Lincoln Memorial. They paused briefly to read some of King's quotations about the civil rights movement that are engraved in stone.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that," read one quotation where the royal couple paused to see King's words from 1963.
Prince Charles and Camilla were joined by two civil rights leaders for their tour of the King memorial, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. They also greeted students and teachers from a high school in Virginia who had gathered to watch the visit.
Joan Darby, who brought her U.S. history class from Stafford, Virginia, to the King memorial said they were thrilled and surprised to meet Prince Charles, along with Lewis and Jackson.
"To come here and have such a joyful event was just really incredible luck on our part," she said.
Harry Johnson, the president of the foundation that built the King memorial, said he gave the royal couple a stone from the memorial's granite as a gift.
Earlier, the royal couple visited the Lincoln Memorial, where they were greeted by historians Doris Kearns Godwin and Michael Beschloss.
The couple is also visiting George Washington's Mount Vernon estate in Virginia and the National Archives, which holds the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and a copy of the English Magna Carta.
Britainâs Prince Charles, third from left, and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, third from right, tour the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial with President and CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Project Foundation Harry Johnson, left, Rev. Jesse Jackson, second from left, Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., second from right, and Dr. Ed Jackson, chief architect of the memorial, right, Wednesday, March 18, 2015 in Washington. The royal couple are visiting cultural and educational sites in the Washington region. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The Associated Press
Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall tour the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall during their visit to Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Associated Press
From left, Harry Johnson President and CEO of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc., Guy Vickers, President of the Tommy Hilfiger Corporate Foundation, Britain's Prince Charles, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Ed Jackson Jr., Executive Architect tour the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
The Associated Press
Britainâs Prince Charles, second from left, shakes hands with people as he and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall tour the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial with Rev. Jesse Jackson, second from left, and Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., center left, Wednesday, March 18, 2015, in Washington. The royal couple are visiting cultural and educational sites in the Washington region. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The Associated Press
Britainâs Prince Charles, right, talks with Rev. Jesse Jackson, second from right as he and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall tour the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. The royal couple are visiting cultural and educational sites in the Washington region. Also pictured is Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., left. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The Associated Press
Britain's Prince Charles arrives for a visit to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. The royal couple is scheduled to visit cultural and educational sites over the next three days. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
The Associated Press
Britain's Prince Charles stops to speak to a tourist during his visit to Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall during his visit to Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Associated Press
Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, tour the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall during their visit to Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Associated Press
Britainâs Prince Charles, and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, tour the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall during their visit to Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Associated Press
Britainâs Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall tour the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall during their visit to Washington, Wednesday, March 18, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Associated Press