The Duke and Duchess of York offered their sympathy to those suffering from the tragic attacks in the US on Sunday outside the US Embassy in London. The two were joined by their daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, as the family laid flowers in the garden at the Roosevelt Memorial and wept among the thousands gathered.
“I do not have enough words,” said Sarah, Duchess of York, who had been en route to the World Trade Center as the first plane struck the towers.
“The Duchess was very emotional, as were her two daughters,” one onlooker told UK tabloid the Daily Express. “I think she considers herself almost an American as she has been doing a lot of work over there. It was wonderful to see her and her family here paying their respects. I thanked her for coming and she smiled and said, ‘I felt I had to’.”
The Duchess and her family signed a condolence book and left messages with their bouquets. “Be brave everyone,” wrote 13-year-old Princess Beatrice. Sarah too left behind her thoughts and prayers. “Thank you to all our friends at Cantor Fitzgerald and to all the victims of the September 11th disaster, our love and deepest sympathy.” Sarah, who has started the 911 Fund to counsel children affected by the disaster, and her family later attended a service at the American Church in London.
More than 22,000 people have visited the American Embassy since disaster struck. “So many people want to come and express their solidarity,” says Deputy Ambassador Glyn Davies. “This is affecting all Americans. I can’t get my mind around the depth of feeling that we’ve seen. Americans are not alone.”
Texas-born model and actress Jerry Hall, whose daughter Elizabeth was in New York at the time of the tragedy, addressed 2,000 mourners at a memorial service at Westminster Abbey on Sunday night. “I have been speaking on the phone to a lot of American people and they all want to say thank you to the British people for the wonderful gesture you made on Thursday when the Queen ordered her band to play our national anthem,” said the The Graduate beauty. “When people ask what we mean about the special relationship between Britain and America, it is this: When you were being blitzed, we stood by you. When we are being terrorised, you stood by us. May we always stand together.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
