Queen meets young bomb victims during visit to children’s hospital
MANCHESTER, England — In a few simple words during a visit to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital to meet the young victims of the terrorist bombing, the Queen encapsulated the horror of an attack that has left the nation reeling.
“It’s dreadful, very wicked, to target that sort of thing,” the Queen told 14-year-old schoolgirl Evie Mills, who was lying with a teddy bear by her side, and a blanket shrouding her injured chest and legs.
The Queen later added, as she toured the children’s ward viewing first hand the carnage of Monday night’s attack: “The awful thing was that everyone was so young.”
During her 65-year reign, the Queen has occasionally made visits to hospitals to help lead the nation in moments of national grieving. She did so after the 7/7 terror attacks in London and also to meet servicemen and women injured fighting for their country. But never have so many children been among the victims.
There are 14 in-patients remaining at the hospital, including five in critical condition.
Among those recovering from their injuries in the hospital was Millie Robson, 15, who was still wearing her Ariana Grande concert T-shirt. Her legs were badly wounded in the blast.
Millie told the Queen she went to the concert with a friend who was also injured in the attack.
The Queen responded: “She sounds (like) a very, very good singer.”
Since Monday evening’s bombings, Manchester has struggled to come to terms with the horror of what took place. But Thursday, the famous city of music reached deep into its soul to help bind its wounds.
At 11 a.m. — as the country fell silent to think of those killed and maimed in the attack — a crowd several thousand strong gathered in St Ann’s Square.
A lone voice began to sing: Don’t Look Back in Anger. The impromptu song rippled through the crowd gaining in size and strength
It was started by Lydia Bernsmeier-Rullow, 32, who said: “It felt beautiful and I got goose pimples all over me.”
Bernsmeier-Rullow said she hadn’t planned to sing the song before attending the vigil, but its lyrics had been in her head ever since the attack. “Don’t look back in anger is a very Mancunian sentiment,” she said. “We don’t hate. We love.”