THE Duke of Cambridge choked up at the official opening of the Manchester bomb memorial as he revealed the difficult of coping with grief.
Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton joined bereaved families and some who survived the atrocity at a private ceremony which left 22 dead and hundreds injured.
It comes almost five years since suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated an explosive device hidden in his rucksack at an Ariana Grande concert on May 22, 2017.
Speaking at the Glade of Light Memorial in Manchester city centre, the Duke shared the pain of losing a loved one.
“I remember only too well the shock and grief on the faces of those I met when I visited those in Manchester on the days following the atrocity,” said the Duke.
“Five years on, I know that the pain and trauma felt by many has not gone away.
“As someone who lives with his own grief, I also know that what often matters most to the bereaved is that those we have lost are not forgotten.
“It’s why memorials such as the Glade of Light are so important.”
He commemorated the memorial as “a counter to the violence and hateful disregard for human life that caused this tragedy.”
The Duke also reflected on how the Oasis song, Don’t Look Back In Anger came to define Manchester’s response to the atrocity.
Bereaved families observed as the Duchess of Cambridge paid her own respects by laying flower wreaths at the memorial.
The royals were also joined by Manchester city council leader, Councillor Bev Craig and the memorial designer, Andy Thomson.
The ceremony also heard from Jayne Jones, who lost her 14-year-old daughter Nell in the blast.
She said: “It’s part of Manchester’s history isn’t it?
“We’ve put her pen portrait in that was used at the inquiry.
“It encapsulated Nell and we’ve just got photographs of the family.”
When asked about losing her daughter, she added: “It can be very hard. You put a brave face on it. I don’t know how you cope with it but you do.”
The Glade of Light, located within Manchester’s Medieval Quarter, became open to the public earlier this year.
