The Duke spoke as a Commonwealth representative at Al Noor Mosque
In what can be described as a poignant speech, the Duke of Cambridge asked the audience to defeat extremism whatever be its form[/tweetit]. Prince William made his speech in Al Noor Mosque at Christchurch in New Zealand. The mosque came into prominence when a gunman allegedly subscribing to white supremacism opened fire. A total of 42 people were killed in the slaughter. The British royal said the ideology of hate now contaminating the world will not divide the people of New Zealand and the Commonwealth. Prince William was in New Zealand representing the Commonwealth.
Prince William Met with NZ Mosque Victims[/tweetthis]
The Duke of Cambridge followed a busy schedule in New Zealand. He attended the ANZAC Day services with Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand on April 25 and the next day the British royal spent some time with the Muslim community in Christchurch. He also visited the attack victims whose serious nature of their injuries made them hospitalized.
Attendees at the Al Noor mosque described Prince William's 10-minute long speech as a rousing one. His message was one of hope. He began his speech by saying the obvious: tragedy happened in the space where they were then, and it is imperative to show terrorists their hateful agenda had failed. The prince reminded his audience that the terrorist thought he could redefine the nature of the mosque but the person failed and the prince was here to show the total extent of his failure to the world. All forms of extremism must be defeated.
Prince William had praise reserved for New Zealand, describing the nation as a "country of peace." He paid fulsome tributes to this Commonwealth member country, reminding his audience that he has visited NZ multiple times, starting from the time he was a baby.
Moving speech from Prince William overnight in New Zealand in response to the #Christchurch shootings:
“In a moment of acute pain, you stood up and you stood together. And in reaction to tragedy, you achieved something remarkable.” pic.twitter.com/i3kMqXCy8P— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) April 26, 2019
The 36-year-old prince drew upon the sudden death of Princess Diana, his mother, in 1997. She died when the car she was in crashed in Paris. He offered a beautiful message of hope to all the grieving families who had lost their loved ones in the horrific attack. He said he has many personal reasons to think about the sudden pain, loss, and grief in his own life. The prince said he has frequently observed others’ sorrow in instances of tragedy and realized that grief could change a person’s outlook, but also helps the person afflicted by grief to live up to espoused values.