The Prince and Princess of Wales have paid tribute to the people who perished in the Grenfell Tower fire on the sixth anniversary of the tragedy, in which 72 people died.
Prince William and Kate Middleton’s joint Twitter account shared a green heart emoji on Wednesday (14 June). Following the disaster, which was the deadliest structural fire the UK had seen since 1988, the green heart came to be used as a message of love and solidarity for both victims and survivors.
Prince William met with Grenfell survivors and bereaved families last month at the Queens Park Rangers football club, where he was told about how the organisation has provided support since the tragedy took place in June 2017.
One survivor, Paul Menacer, who created the Grenfell Memorial Cup two years ago, said William was “very adamant and very passionate about us as bereaved survivors getting justice”.
“The fact that someone in his position that is still wanting the justice and fight for us, and he made that perfectly clear to us as well that he hoped we can all get our own closures in our own sort of similar ways,” he said.
Last year, William and Kate attended a Grenfell Tower memorial service and observed 72 seconds of silence at the base of the tower in north Kensington.
They also laid a wreath in tribute and listened to speeches from the bereaved, some of whom called for arrests of those responsible for the tragedy.
The Grenfell Tower fire is close to the royal family’s hearts. Shortly after it occurred, the late Queen Elizabeth II and William visited survivors, volunteers and emergency service personnel at a makeshift relief centre that was set up near the burned out building.
At the time, the Queen paid tribute to the “bravery” of firefighters and the “incredible generosity” of the volunteers who were providing relief.
But six years on since the devastating fire, a leading campaigner has said that the lack of change is causing anger within the community.
Former Grenfell resident Edward Daffarn told the PA news agency that he had been “pretty convinced that Grenfell would become the catalyst for societal change” after the fire took place.
But instead, he said the lack of criminal justice in relation to the incident was “abusive”.
“To date, there hasn’t been a single arrest. Not a single clink of handcuffs for any of the perpetrators of the fire,” Daffarn said. “I know it’s a cliché but, you know, justice delayed is justice denied. And we can’t go on for much longer without people being held to account.”
Architectural experts and firefighters concluded that the tower was covered in flammable cladding that helped the fire spread quickly up the 24-storey building. It led to reviews of social housing, building safety and wider reform, as well as an inquiry that revealed alarming evidence.
A spokesperson for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “Our thoughts are with the bereaved families, survivors and residents as they remember those who lost their lives in the Grenfell Tower tragedy.”
