Queen visits Manchester
She calls the attack "very wicked"
Last updated 25th May 2017
The Queen condemned the wicked'' attack on Manchester Arena as she joined young victims of the suicide bomb at their hospital bedside.
Medics, who battled to save the lives of children caught up in the atrocity, told the Queen as she toured the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital how they worked tirelessly through the night. Twelve children under the age of 16 - among the 64 casualties - were taken to the hospital by ambulance following the terror attack.
The Queen met scores of staff who had assisted the emergency effort - including clinicians, doctors, nurses and porters - before visiting a ward where four young girls injured in the concert blast are recovering.
She told Evie Mills, 14, and her parents: It's dreadful. Very wicked. To target that sort of thing.''
The Queen expressed her shock at the targeting of young victims, telling a member of staff:The awful thing was that everyone was so young.
The age of them.'' She learnt about the role each had played on the night - including how many had come in from home to offer their help - and commended them for coming together''. Millie Robson, 15, was wearing an Ariana Grande T-shirt as she met and shared words with the royal visitor.
The Queen asked Millie, who suffered injuries to her legs, if she had enjoyed the concert before the attack - prompting the teenager to reveal she had won two VIP passes and met the global superstar backstage.
The monarch described the atrocity as very alarming'' and wished Millie, from Greater Manchester, a speedy recovery.
It's not something you expect at all,'' the Queen said to Millie's father David, who was waiting at the exit of the arena for the youngster when the bomb exploded.
The Queen told Evie, from Harrogate, she thought Grande was avery good singer'', adding: She sounds very, very good.'' She assured her parents thateveryone is united'' following the attack. One of the young victims, 12-year-old Emily Murrell, was forced to miss the royal visit as she was undergoing surgery.
Her mother Ruth, who was also hit with shrapnel and is still recovering in hospital, said her daughter would be incredibly disappointed but spoke to the Queen in her absence. Amy Barlow, 12, from Helmshore, Lancashire, was another of the teenagers who met the Queen.
She was joined by her mother Cathy - who said she had not left the hospital since the pair were caught up in the attack - and father Grant.
The Queen's visit comes two days after Prime Minister Theresa May went to the hospital. Earlier, staff gathered outside the hospital for a minute's silence, when they remembered those who had lost their lives, before bursting into spontaneous applause.
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