King Charles’ “thoughts and prayers” are with family of sword rampage teen
King Charles’ “thoughts and prayers” are with family of sword rampage teen
King Charles has said his thoughts and prayers are with the family of a teenager stabbed to death in a sword rampage.
The monarch, 75, spoke out after the 14-year-old boy was knifed in Hainault, north-east London on Tuesday (30.04.24) in a horrific attack that also saw two police officers and three members of the public taken to hospital after a knifeman launched a series of assaults from around 7am.
After police confirmed the teen had died in hospital, a spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: “Following the horrific scenes in Hainault this morning, the King has asked to be kept fully informed as details of the incident become clearer.
“His thoughts and prayers are with all those affected – in particular, the family of the young victim who has lost his life – and he salutes the courage of the emergency services who helped contain the situation.”
Footage has emerged of the moment officers Tasered a 36-year-old man in a yellow hoodie after the attack while he was still wielding his sword, before he was arrested.
Charles spoke out as he returned to public royal duties on Tuesday.
The monarch – who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer on 5 February after undergoing a procedure to treat an enlarged prostate – toured the Macmillan Cancer Centre at University College Hospital, London, with his 76-year-old wife Camilla.
When asked by a royal fan about his health battle and recovery as the couple visited the specialist treatment centre, he said it was a “bit of a shock” to be given his diagnosis.
He added: “Not too bad. It’s always a bit of a shock, isn’t it, when they tell you?”
And when asked about how he was coping with his cancer treatment he said: “I’m alright, thank you.”
Charles also sympathised with a cancer patient as she received her chemotherapy with many others in a day unit at the specialist centre.
He told 63-year-old Lesley Woodbridge: “I’ve got to have my treatment this afternoon as well.”