The Prince of Wales attending the Auckland Anzac Day Civic Service in New Zealand on April 25, 2019 (Picture: Getty)
Prince William has paid tribute to the New Zealand mosque terror attack victims five years after 50 people were gunned down.
‘When I visited Christchurch in the weeks that followed, I was struck by the unity forged by an attack which aimed to sow division,’ he said.’It is a constant reminder to me of why we must come together and unite against extremism.’
The statement was shared in a tweet by Kensington Palace, signed only ‘W’.
Coming amid a furore over the Princess of Wales, many immediately noticed that his wife had not also signed off with her initial ‘C’.
She had used the same Twitter account to share two tweets marked ‘C’ over the past week, the first being a Mother’s Day photo which sparked an international outcry for its high level of editing.
‘This is a joint account why is W the only one that is making the statement?’ one reply asked.
Kensington Palace previously said that the Princess of Wales would not be taking on public duties until after Easter, due to her recovery from abdominal surgery.
Additionally, it was only the prince who made the journey to New Zealand to meet survivors a month after the attack in 2019, while his wife remained in the UK with their children.
However, with speculation and concern about the princess reaching fever pitch, any public statement from the palace is being examined.
The prince’s tribute today said: ‘Five years on from the terrorist attack in Christchurch, my thoughts are with the families and friends of those lost, those injured and the entire Muslim community in New Zealand who responded to this horrific event with such courage and fortitude.’
Many others replied to thank him for remembering the victims of the attack on a mosque in March 2019.
Prince William, then Duke of Cambridge, met prime minister Jacinda Ardern as well as families and emergency responders during a two-day tour of the country.
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