Latest news with #7July
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
King Charles Posts Stunning Photo of Himself Standing All Alone in the Rain
When it comes to the royal family, there's never a shortage of iconic photos. Whether it's Prince William and Kate Middleton looking stunning or Queen Camilla and Duchess Sophie serving timeless elegance, the royal archives are basically a style goldmine. King Charles is no exception and Buckingham Palace just dropped another stunning photo of the monarch that has royal fans talking. The post, shared on Monday, July 7, marked the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 bombings in London. To honor the day, King Charles shared a heartfelt written message (complete with his signature) but it's the second slide that truly stood out. The image shows the monarch standing alone in a dark suit during his visit to the memorial site. While others linger in the background, the photo captures a quiet, emotional moment that really speaks volumes. 'Today, as we mark twenty years since the tragic events of 7th July 2005, my heartfelt thoughts and special prayers remain with all those whose lives were forever changed on that terrible Summer's day,' Charles wrote. 'While the horrors will never be forgotten, we may take comfort from the way such events rally communities together in solidarity, solace and determination. It is this spirit of unity that has helped London, and our nation, to heal,' he continued. 'As we remember those we lost, let us therefore use this 20th anniversary to reaffirm our commitment to building a society where people of all faiths and backgrounds can live together with mutual respect and understanding, always standing firm against those who would seek to divide us.' Just last week, royal watchers were treated to another round of King Charles content—this time in a lighter mood. During the historic Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, he looked especially dapper in a beige blazer, matching trousers, and a bold green-and-red striped tie. The caption read: 'Today, the historic Ceremony of the Keys took place in the Gardens of the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Dating back centuries, this tradition symbolises Edinburgh welcoming its monarch.' Want all the latest entertainment news sent right to your inbox? Click here. King Charles's Body Language Speaks Volumes in New Photo With Queen Camilla
The Sun
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Britain unites to remember victims of 7/7 bombings on 20th anniversary as Royals, PM and survivors vow never to forget
PRINCE William led tributes to 7/7 Tube and bus bomb victims as the nation came together to mark 20 years since the 7/7 bombings. Survivors, families who lost loved ones, first responders, the Royal Family and senior politicians united to remember those who died in the terror which gripped the capital. 12 12 12 On July 7, 2005, four suicide bombers hit London's transport network, killing 52 people and injuring more than 770 on three London Underground trains and a bus. The attacks were the first suicide bombings on British soil and changed the country's response to terror forever. In a statement issued to mark the anniversary, Sir Keir Starmer said: 'Today, the whole country will unite to remember the lives lost in the 7/7 attacks, and all those whose lives were changed forever. 'We honour the courage shown that day — the bravery of the emergency services, the strength of survivors and the unity of Londoners in the face of terror. My heartfelt thoughts and special prayers remain with all those whose lives were forever changed on that terrible summer's day. King Charles 'Those who tried to divide us failed. We stood together then, and we stand together now — against hate and for the values that define us of freedom, democracy and the rule of law.' Prince William met survivors and relatives of victims to lay flowers at the permanent memorial in Hyde Park yesterday afternoon. William, 43, joined up to 500 survivors of the bombings and families of the victims for a moving service. He spoke with Thelma Stober, one of the survivors, and Gerald Oppenheim, chairman of the London Emergencies Trust. Jill Foulkes, sister of victim David Foulkes, said that grief never got easier but that the loss and the pain changed over the years. Her brother died on his first visit to London on his own. Inside 7/7 The story behind Britain's worst ever terror attack His father, Graham, said: 'For many people, nothing was the same again and yet everything was the same — because the good which is in Londoners and the countless visitors whom they host at any given moment is not erased by hatred or threat. 'But rather it is fostered to produce a harvest of hope for each generation.' June Taylor, whose daughter Carrie died aged 24 at Aldgate station, told those gathered: 'Don't take for granted what you have but treasure every minute.' Earlier in the day, Sir Keir and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan laid wreaths at the memorial at 8.50am, to coincide with the moment that the first bomb went off. The Prime Minister left on top of white flowers a handwritten note, which read: 'Our thoughts are with all those who lost their lives and to the survivors of 7/7. "Twenty years on, we grieve and we remember them.' Officials including Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and Chief Constable of British Transport Police Lucy D'Orsi also laid floral tributes. 12 12 In a poignant memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral yesterday morning, 52,000 white petals rained down from the ceiling while a list of victims was read out. Saba Edwards, the daughter of victim Behnaz Mozakka, read out the names of those killed on the Piccadilly line service between King's Cross and Russell Square. The attack was the deadliest of the four launched that day, with 26 people killed by Germaine Lindsay when he blew himself up by detonating his bomb just after the train left the station at 8.49am. Ms Edwards' voice cracked slightly as she got to her mother's name among the list of victims. I remain angry. Laura was denied the opportunity of a life that me and my brother have been lucky enough to have. Rob Webb Survivor Ms Stober then read out the names of the seven killed on the Circle Line train between Liverpool Street and Aldgate, the six who died at Edgware Road, and the 13 who lost their lives on a bus at Tavistock Square. Shehzad Tanweer detonated his bomb on the Circle Line between Liverpool Street and Aldgate at 8.49am, with ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan doing so on a Circle line train near Edgware Road. Confusion initially led to the attacks being perceived as a power surge before it became clear that it was a bombing attack, carried out by home-grown terrorists. The last of the attacks took place on the number 30 bus not far from King's Cross, at about 9.47am. Edward and Sophie, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, represented the King during the service yesterday. Charles issued a statement, highlighting comfort could be taken from the 'spirit of unity' in London and the country, which allowed the nation to heal. He said: 'My heartfelt thoughts and special prayers remain with all those whose lives were forever changed on that terrible summer's day. 12 "We remember with profound sadness the 52 innocent people who were killed in senseless acts of evil — and the enduring grief of their loved ones. 'We should also remember the countless stories of extraordinary courage and compassion. "We recall, too, the hundreds more who carry physical and psychological scars, and pray that their suffering may ease as the years pass. 'The selfless bravery of emergency services, transport workers, and citizens who rushed towards danger to help strangers reminds us of the very best of humanity in the face of the very worst.' Senior politicians in attendance included Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, and former PMs Tony Blair and Theresa May. Rob Webb, whose younger sister Laura was killed at Edgware Road, called 7/7 'an attack on all of us' that should never be forgotten. He added: 'I remain angry. Laura was denied the opportunity of a life that me and my brother have been lucky enough to have.' Bishop of London the Rt Rev Dame Sarah Mullally said the message was one of hope, adding: 'The good that is in Londoners is not erased by hatred or threat. "Hope presents itself as a survival tool for the tenacity of the spirit that's in us all.' Home Secretary Yvette Cooper vowed to 'always confront the threats facing this country'. London Mayor Sir Sadiq said Londoners 'will always choose hope over fear and unity over division'. He added: 'We remember the 52 people whose lives were stolen and our thoughts and prayers remain with their loved ones, and the more than 700 people injured by these cowardly acts of hatred.' EDGWARE ROAD 12 TAVISTOCK SQUARE ALDGATE KING'S CROSS 12
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
These words of defiant unity followed the horror of the 7/7 bombings. Imagine what we would hear today instead
Today, at 8.59am, the teeming mass coursing through King's Cross station in London fell silent. It continued to move, because the world must turn, but the hubbub ceased. Moments earlier, a strangely quiet, sombre loudspeaker announcement marked the moment the 7/7 terrorist bombs exploded in that station and elsewhere in the capital in 2005, killing 52 people and injuring more than 770. The capital moves on, but the capital remembers. I stood still for a minute underneath the glowing light of a digital clock. People offered knowing glances and nods as they passed to catch their trains. At the time of the bombings, I covered London and the London mayoralty for the Guardian. I remember being called by colleagues asking for information about what they had been told in the initial moments was a giant electrical failure on the London underground. I had been warned that week about the fears in official circles that some sort of terrorist attack was possible, if not likely. I rang a contact. 'It's not an electrical incident, is it?' 'No,' they replied gravely, 'it isn't.' Some things I have forgotten, but others stayed with me. The calm in those stations, even amid the horror, even when no one knew if there were more bombers, more devices. The relative calm on the streets. City dwellers are like dysfunctional families, and no less in Britain's capital. They bicker over nonsense and trivialities, but pause all that when something serious occurs, when they need to find the ties that bind. Thirteen people died when the youngest bomber detonated his device on a No 30 double-decker bus not far from King's Cross, in Tavistock Square. All buses stopped that morning, but by the afternoon, they were running again and Londoners were boarding them. One thing I remember acutely is the reaction of the then London mayor, Ken Livingstone. He was a controversial figure throughout his time in public life, first as a two-fingered salute to the Thatcher government during his leadership of the Greater London council and then as the lefty mayor that righties never liked, but, in the early years at least, could never quite dislike. For a time, he was formidable. It didn't last, and by the end of his time in politics, he had pretty well obliterated goodwill and overshadowed his political accomplishments with shocking, recurring comments referencing Hitler and disgraceful remarks rightly condemned as antisemitism. He resigned from the Labour party in 2018, having been suspended two years earlier over his comments, which were exacerbated by his denials of any antisemitism in the party. Livingstone apologised for any offence, and insisted his comments were not antisemitic. In 2023, it was announced that he had Alzheimer's and has retired from public life. When Livingstone was clever and sensible, I praised him. When he was stupid and offensive, I said that too. The Boris Johnson-supporting London Evening Standard, my former employer, once implied I was an uncritical Livingstone crony, pointing to an independent research project commissioned by City Hall I had worked on. But a multitude of my stories critical of Livingstone gave easy lie to that. So this is not a blithe attempt to rehabilitate Livingstone. But 20 years ago, on the day of 7/7, as London mayor, he gave an example of political leadership in the face of trauma and despair. It was just what was needed at the time, but it also highlights the inadequacy of the community stewardship we too often accept as normal in our national politics, and the current primacy of an approach that actively creates division as its modus operandi, seeking incremental gains regardless of the collateral damage. In a hastily called press conference, in a dark suit, in a steady voice, but with eyes slightly watering, Livingstone said: 'I want to say one thing specifically to the world today. This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at presidents or prime ministers. It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old. It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any considerations for age, for class, for religion, or whatever.' That isn't an ideology, he said: 'It isn't even a perverted faith – it is just an indiscriminate attempt at mass murder and we know what the objective is. They seek to divide Londoners. They seek to turn Londoners against each other. I said yesterday to the International Olympic Committee [London had just secured the 2012 Olympics] that the city of London is the greatest in the world, because everybody lives side by side in harmony. Londoners will not be divided by this cowardly attack. They will stand together in solidarity alongside those who have been injured and those who have been bereaved and that is why I'm proud to be the mayor of that city.' Finally, he said: 'I wish to speak directly to those who came to London today to take life. I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others – that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail. 'In the days that follow look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfil their dreams and achieve their potential. They choose to come to London, as so many have come before, because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don't want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail.' It is hard to reconcile how pitch-perfect that was with his later, awful treatment of one of London's cherished communities. But on that day, he took an approach that absolutely chimed with me and many others. It said, we are London, we are diverse, we are fiercely unapologetic about who we are and how we live. You, the attackers, don't like it – and, by the way, we don't really care; we reject you. London salutes its dead and wounded. London moves on. And it's not just London: up and down the country, there are, for all the challenges and difficulties of doing so, communities seeking to live that way, preyed upon by extremists who, for their own ends – be they political, social, ideological or criminal – seek to achieve exactly the opposite. Twenty years on, reject them too. Hugh Muir is a Guardian columnist
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Keir Starmer and Sadiq Khan lay wreaths at 7/7 bombings memorial
Prime minister Keir Starmer and London mayor Sadiq Khan laid wreaths at the 7/7 memorial in Hyde Park today (7 July), in a service commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 2005 London terrorist attacks that killed 52 people. At 8:50am, three suicide bombers detonated explosives on the London Underground at Aldgate, Edgware Road, and Russell Square. A fourth blast struck a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square an hour later. The coordinated attacks, carried out by Islamist extremists, also injured over 770 people and remain one of the deadliest in the UK's history.
The National
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
UK marks 20 years since 7/7 with calls for unity
The UK is marking 20 years since the 7/7 bombings by remembering how Londoners came together in the wake of the terrorist attacks. King Charles III remembered the 'spirit of unity' that was shown on the day 20 years ago. The capital would remain a place where 'people of all faiths and backgrounds can live together with mutual respect and understanding', he said. 'Today, as we mark 20 years since the tragic events of July 7, 2005, my heartfelt thoughts and special prayers remain with all those whose lives were forever changed on that terrible summer's day,' he said. 'We remember with profound sadness the 52 innocent people who were killed in senseless acts of evil – and the enduring grief of their loved ones. 'We recall, too, the hundreds more who carry physical and psychological scars, and pray that their suffering may ease as the years pass." He praised the 'selfless bravery' of emergency services, transport workers and fellow Londoners who went to help the wounded. 'Fellow citizens who rushed towards danger to help strangers remind us of the very best of humanity in the face of the very worst,' he said. 'While the horrors will never be forgotten, we may take comfort from the way such events rally communities together in solidarity, solace and determination. 'It is this spirit of unity that has helped London, and our nation, to heal, always standing firm against those who would seek to divide us.' Four suicide bombers struck three trains and a bus on July 7, 2005, killing 52 people and injuring more than 770. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Londoners had showed 'unity in the face of terror' before going to lay a wreathe at the memorial for the victims of 7/7 in Hyde Park. 'We honour the courage that was shown that day – the bravery of the emergency services, the strength of the survivors and the unity of Londoners in the face of terror," he said. 'Those who tried to divide us failed. We stood together then and we stand together now – against hate and for the values that define us of freedom, of democracy and the rule of law." Other members of the royal family are to join services and memorials to mark the anniversary. On behalf of King Charles, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh will attend the National Service of Commemoration at St Paul's Cathedral from 11.30am on Monday. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said the day was 'no less shocking' than it was 20 years ago. 'Twenty years have passed since 7/7 but the passage of time makes what happened that day no less shocking. It was an appalling attack on our capital city and on democracy itself. 'As we come together to mark this anniversary, my thoughts remain with the victims, survivors and all who loved them. Amid the horror of that day, we saw the best of people, our emergency services, first responders and ordinary Londoners who bravely acted to help one another. "Their courage continues to inspire us. We will always confront the threats facing this country to keep the public safe and preserve our way of life.' Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'Today, we stand with those who carry the pain of that day, the families, friends and colleagues of those who never came home. We will remember them always.'
