In its darkest hours a nation looks to its figureheads for guidance and reassurance. And following the Manchester Arena terror attack in May 2017 the Queen, who died on Thursday aged 96, responded with a typical humanity and compassion.
In a statement released the day after the atrocity, when 22 people were killed and hundreds more injured when Salman Abedi denotated a suicide bomb in the foyer of Manchester Arena following an Ariana Grande concert, the Queen expressed her 'deepest sympathy', while thanking the members of the emergency services for their 'professionalism and care'.
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