A suspect package, believed to be a bomb, was discovered near Buckingham Palace last night on Birdcage Walk. Whilst there is some confusion as to what actually occurred, it seems most likely that the police carried out a controlled explosion of the package. There was a loud bang which interrupted BBC and Sky news broadcasts. A senior BBC News producer, Pia Talbot, claimed that the Metropolitan Police Force told her that they and exploded the bomb.
The news came as Londoners held a vigil in Trafalgar Square for the victims of Wednesday’s terrorist attacks in Westminster, London.
Following the attack, security has been increased in the British capital, with a greater police presence near the Palace of Westminster. The gates of Buckingham Palace were ordered to be closed and Her Majesty The Queen cancelled a trip to open New Scotland Yard (the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police) which she had been due to complete with HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
Despite the heightened security threat and even after the finding of the bomb last night, The Queen and The Prince Philip remain in Buckingham Palace. In fact, Her Majesty is due to bestow honours of prominent members of the film and television industry later today.
Of course, there are increased fears for the 90-year-old monarch’s safety but it is understandable that The Royal Family wish to remain defiant in the face of adversity. During the Second World War, King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth (the current Queen’s parents) refused to leave London during the Nazi bombing campaign known as the Blitz. At one point, Buckingham Palace itself was bombed, and the King and Queen were very nearly killed. When asked about the possibility of The Royal Family being evacuated, The Queen Mother said “The children won’t go without me. I won’t leave without the King. And the King will never leave.” This steadfast grit and stubborn defiance helped to inspire the British people to keep fighting against Nazism.
Unless some Muslim jihadists are planning to actually storm Buckingham Palace en masse it’s highly unlikely the Queen and Duke are in much danger although it’s reasonable to assume security has been heightened considerably in view of the day’s events.
Honors were conferred by Prince (St) Charles before (?) his courageous and daring visit to victims of the attack in hospital.
Your opinion piece re: Charles’ teaching PM May a lesson on compassion has been removed.
Good for you. Perhaps fewer will take note of what a complete and total fool you made of yourself in that ludicrous piece.
Thank heavens Charles was not hurt during his oh, so compassionate visit to the victims, or as he was referred to in your opinion piece, his “fellow people”. Like he thinks of them that way.
Her Majesty’s First Minister Mrs May is the chief operating officer of the British government.
His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales is one of that government’s biggest beneficiaries.
The PM, guarded by personnel who risk their lives for her safety, takes her security orders from that security team who clearly decided their boss should get away from Westminster immediately.
Agreed – the biased political overtones of that piece of unresearched crass writing was obvious. Mrs May had visited the victims the day before Prince Charles. No hint of an apology for this though.
Mrs May is PM. Her security people couldn’t possibly know the extent of the attack. And she wanted to return to No 10 to learn more and take action as necessary. How could her presence at the scene have served any purpose except to obstruct? By the time Charles visited victims police knew this was a one-of and he was secure. And he was exercising the extent of his value. Even HM knew enough to delay the NSY opening to allow police to focus on the emergency
Exactly. She was busy being PM but stating in the article that she hadn’t visited and had no compassion was bad reporting. She’d visited the day before, chairing COBRA meetings and calling the PMs/Presidents of the various countries of the dead and injured.
I’m confused by your time line. I thought Prince Charles had visited on the day of. Was it a day after or more?
The attack happened on Wednesday, Theresa May visited on Thursday and Prince Charles visited on Friday.
Thank you. I was not aware of the time line. The PM is right on the ball. Good for Charles too. I hope someone in the royal family will send condolences to the family of the American who was killed when he was on his 25th wedding anniversary vacation/celebration in London. Poor family.
There is zero chance of Her Majesty leaving London. I’m sure it never crossed her mind.