Prince William, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and other members of the Royal Family were greatly moved by the horrific tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire – and they’re done a lot to help survivors and grieving families
The Monarch looked teary-eyed as the spoke with the families of victims, rescuers, volunteers and people desperately still looking for their loved ones.
But as they left, they faced cries asking for them not to leave with one devastated man whose friend’s children were missing shouting: “What about the children? Queen? Queen? What about the children?”.
As he walked around to get in the car, the Duke looked back to the families and promised to return .
In an tense, emotional moment he says: “I’ve got to go I’m sorry. I’ll be back, I’ll come back.”
Someone in the crowd can be heard telling people who are upset “he said he’ll be back”, and a woman replies “you believe that?”
In the two years since the horrific blaze William and other members of the Royal Family have kept their promise and have done a number of different things to help the community.Today, the Duke and wife Kate met victims of the Grenfell disaster and Westminster Bridge terror attack at the launch of new national emergency response scheme.
The National Emergencies Trust at St Martin-in-the-Fields is an independent charity which will provide an emergency response to disasters in the UK.
It was created as a result of discussions held within the charitable sector about how to effectively respond to national emergencies following recent devastating tragedies, including the Grenfell Tower fire, and the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester in 2017.
The trust will work collaboratively with charities and other bodies to direct public donations to NET appeals, and to distribute funds fairly and efficiently at the time of a national emergency.
The concept of a collaborative approach to public emergency response has been proven by the Disasters Emergency Committee, which has been responding to overseas disasters for more than 50 years, and will be applied by the NET to domestic emergencies.
Last year, William made a special appearance on DIY SOS as the show worked to replace a boxing club that was destroyed in the fire.
The first floor of the tower was home to the Dale Youth Amateur Boxing Club, which had a nationwide reputation for its work with young boxers, but was moved to a temporary home in a car park after the fire.
The duke met the programme’s presenter Nick Knowles and the crew of workers, and joined one of the volunteer teams as they began the first day of the building’s fit-out.
During the visit he also offered advice to those grieving for the loss of friends and family .
Meeting 14-year-old boy Jodie, who lost a close friend, he said: “I’m sorry to hear that. Have you found it quite difficult afterwards?”
The teenager replied: “Yeah I didn’t know how to cope with it. Boxing is the main aspect that takes my mind off it, I really enjoy it.”
“You’ve got to talk about how much you miss your friends, that’s perfectly normal and keep boxing as well. I can see that twinkle in your eyes, you’re going to be good.”
Meanwhile his sister-in-law Meghan Markle raised money for the community with her first solo project after joining the Royal Family.
She made a number of secret visits to the site and launched a charity cookbook with the women from the Hubb Community Kitchen in the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for group .
She writes: “In January 2018, as I was settling in to my new home of London, it was important to me to get to know organisations working in the local community. I made a quiet trip to Al-Manaar, a mosque close to the Grenfell community.
“In 2017, I had watched the Grenfell Tower tragedy unfold on the news; I was in Canada at the time, sharing the global sentiment of shock and sympathy for what this community was enduring, while also deeply wanting to help.
“Fast-forward seven months, and I was set to meet some of the women affected by the fire, at a community kitchen in Al-Manaar.”
“I immediately felt connected to this community kitchen; it is a place for women to laugh, grieve, cry and cook together.
“Melding cultural identities under a shared roof, it creates a space to feel a sense of normalcy – in its simplest form, the universal need to connect, nurture and commune through food, through crisis or joy – something we can all relate to.”