Prince William and Prince Harry have headed to the site of the Grenfell Tower fire to visit a new community centre which will help support the families affected by the disaster.
The Support4Grenfell Community Hub was launched by the Princes’ Royal Foundation in July, working in collaboration with charities such as Child Bereavement UK, Winston’s Wish and Place2Be. The community centre in north Kensington aims to provide mental health support for parents and children.
The Princes met with representatives from those organisations, as well as volunteers and former Grenfell residents, including a group of school children. Prince Harry offered some poignant advice to the latter, after they revealed that they’d been trying to help and support each other after the devastating fire.
‘That’s all you can do, is be there for each other because there will be some people who either don’t want to talk about their experiences or think they are absolutely fine, and in years’ time, maybe five years’ time suddenly they might have some nightmares,’ he said. ‘That’s when you guys will be crucial, because you have been through that process.’
Prince William first visited Grenfell back in June, accompanying his grandmother the Queen to meet with victims and members of the emergency services.
The Duchess of Cambridge was set to join her husband and brother-in-law on the visit, but has cancelled recent public appearances after announcing her third pregnancy. This is due to her suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of morning sickness that also affected the Duchess in the early stages of her previous pregnancies.
The Duke apologised for his wife’s absence, saying that she would have been ‘thrilled’ to hear about the ways in which various charities are supporting those affected by the tragedy. One member of the group joked that the Duchess had ‘got a good excuse.’
The brothers went on to visit the Al-Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, which was one of the first organisations to respond to the fire, co-ordinating volunteers and supplying those affected with food, water and shelter.