The dad of a girl who was visited by the Queen in hospital after the Manchester Arena bombing has recalled how 'kind and genuine' the late monarch was.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited 12-year-old Amy Barlow, along with her mum Cathy and dad Grant, in hospital after the attack in 2017. Grant said her visit 'helped to diminish' the bad memories of the attack and was 'very humbling'.
He told Lancs Live of the family's sadness at the news of her death and said it 'came as a terrible shock'. Grant, from Helmshore in Lancashire, said: "The fact that the Queen took the time and trouble to visit Amy and other victims of the Manchester Arena bomb attack at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital meant a lot to us, and we remain very grateful to her for her kind words and genuine concern for the injured girls on the ward.
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"I don’t know what the Queen was expecting, but she was faced with a ward of parents who hadn’t slept for days and were functioning on caffeine, of women and girls who hadn’t at that time been operated on, so they were all still carrying shrapnel or had other severe wounds or broken limbs.
"Most were on morphine drips and I remember one lady, still in shock, telling the Queen how her friend had died by her side, which was a terrible and desperately sad thing to hear.
"Her Majesty was clearly moved and, when not having to put on a show for the cameras, it was obvious to me that she was a very real, genuine person, who cared very much for her subjects.
"It’s very humbling when Queen Elizabeth II is stood at the foot of your daughter’s hospital bed, asking her how she is and chatting about Ariane Grande, especially when you remember that Her Majesty stayed in London during the Blitz, worked with Churchill and met most of the prominent politicians, statesmen and celebrities from the last 70 years.
"She was kind and genuine, and when we think back to those awful events, we find that her visit has helped to diminish the bad memories. Her sudden death came as a terrible shock and we are, as a family, deeply saddened."
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