Prince William Lays Flowers at Wembley Stadium to Commemorate Victims of Manchester Attack

Katherine Richter
Updated

Prince William laid down a wreath of flowers in honor of the victims of Monday’s Manchester terrorist attacks in London on Saturday.

Immediately following Ariana Grande’s concert Monday night, 22 people were killed and 119 were injured after a suicide bomber detonated an improvised explosive device. Among the dead were an 8-year-old girl, Saffie Roussos, and several teenagers.

William’s commemoration occurred before The Emirates FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. He also participated in a silent moment dedicated to the victims.

On Saturday, the Kensington Palace tweeted the handwritten message the 34-year-old had written.

“We will never fear coming together to celebrate all that unites us. In memory of the friends and family taken from us in Manchester,” the tweet said, accompanying the letter signed by Prince William with those very words.

Earlier this week, Queen Elizabeth had made a surprise visit to a children’s hospital that is treating many of the young victims of the horrific tragedy, telling one victim that the suicide bombing was “dreadful” and “very wicked.”

The monarch arrived at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital at around 11:20 a.m. Thursday, shortly after Britain had fallen silent for a minute in tribute to the dead and injured, as well as their families and loved ones.

And on Friday, Grande herself shared a heartfelt letter on Twitter following the attack — and announced she will be returning to England to stage a benefit concert to honor and raise money for the victims and their families.

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Part of her letter read, “I am sorry for the pain and fear that you must be feeling and for the trauma that you, too, must be experiencing. We will never be able to understand why events like this take place because it is not in our nature, which is why we shouldn’t recoil. We will not quit or operate in fear. We won’t let this divide us. We won’t let hate win.”

The 23-year-old pop singer then announced that she’d be returning to Manchester to honor and raise money for the victims of the attack and their families, sharing a link to the Manchester Evening News’ Just Giving partnership with the Red Cross.