Prince William And Kate Pay Their Respects To Manchester Terror Attack Victims
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge traveled to Manchester today to pay tribute to the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack by attending the opening of a new memorial. The couple was seen arriving at the memorial, which carries the name the Glade of Light Memorial, this afternoon.
The memorial is a tribute to the victims of the tragic event that shook the world five years ago. Twenty-two lives were lost due to a suicide bomber at an Ariana Grande concert on 22nd May 2017, with many more being injured or affected by the traumatic event.
The memorial is located near the city’s cathedral, and is a breathtaking creation, with it featuring a white marble halo that bears the names of all the victims, a hawthorn tree in the middle and a colorful garden, filled with native plants to the UK, that is said to keep the place colorful year-round.
The halo, besides having the names of the victims engraved with bronze on it, it also holds personalized memory capsules put there by the families of the victims, embedded in the marble itself.
During the event Prince William made a short speech, while Kate laid a bouquet of flowers in honor of the victims, before the two royals joined a private reception inside Manchester Cathedral where they met some of the families of the victims and members of the emergency services that were first to arrive at the scene.
Five years ago Prince William travelled to Manchester after the attack, as the royal talked to the community that were still in shock and attended a service of commemoration at the cathedral. Queen Elizabeth also visited the city just days after the bombing, speaking with some of the young victims that were in the hospital and condemning the horrible act as “very wicked”.
The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge have arrived in Manchester for a ceremony to formally open the Glade of Light memorial to the victims of the 2017 Arena Bombing #CapitalReports pic.twitter.com/4XKMpSIREx
— Capital North West News (@CapitalNWNews) May 10, 2022
It was a horrible thing that happened and we must continue honoring and remembering all that passed away that day, with this memorial doing exactly that, as well as being a reminder to do better and try to prevent anything like this from happening ever again.