Queen Elizabeth II visits victims of the Manchester Arena attack in hospital
The queen also visited with the hospital's doctors and nurses.
— -- Queen Elizabeth II visited a children’s hospital today in Manchester and met with young survivors of the deadly blast that killed 22 people after an Ariana Grande concert.
The queen, wearing an orange hat and carrying a black clutch, arrived at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital this morning after the U.K. held a national moment of silence for the victims of the blast.
The 91-year-old monarch met with some of the hospital’s nurses and doctors and visited the hospital rooms of survivors, including a 15-year-old girl who was wearing an Ariana Grande T-shirt and surrounded by balloons and stuffed animals.
Queen Elizabeth asked the girl, identified as 15-year-old Millie Robson, if she had enjoyed the show. Millie told the queen she met Grande backstage before the concert.
The Monday night blast at Manchester Arena killed at least 22 people and left dozens injured. The blast, which occurred in the venue's foyer, came at the conclusion of Grande’s concert, just after pink balloons had fallen from the arena's ceiling.
Grande's audience at Manchester Arena was mostly young people, many of them teens and pre-teens wearing the singer's signature bunny ears. The queen called it "very wicked" to "target that sort of thing."
Queen Elizabeth also met with a 14-year-old girl and her parents and a 12-year-old girl and her mom. The queen told one of the families it was "very interesting how everybody has united" in the wake of the attack.
She also met with a mother who was injured while waiting for her 12-year-old daughter at the concert. The woman, identified as Ruth Murrell, told the queen her daughter attended the concert with a friend. The friend’s mother died in the blast.
Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital has 371 beds and is the "largest single-site children's hospital in the U.K.," according to its website.
The queen issued a statement quickly after the attack, saying, “The whole nation has been shocked.”
“I know I speak for everyone in expressing my deepest sympathy to all who have been affected by this dreadful event and especially to the families and friends of those who have died or were injured,” the statement read.