Prince William tells mosque attack survivors: New Zealand has shown the world it won't be divided

New Zealand has shown the world it will not be divided in the wake of the devastating Christchurch mosque shootings, Prince William has said.

In a moving speech at the Masjid Al Noor in Christchurch, where 42 people lost their lives, the Duke of Cambridge hailed the example set by the country as it continues to come to terms with the tragedy.

The duke said the terrorist’s act of violence was “designed” to change the face of New Zealand. He added: “I’m here to help you show the world that he failed.”

William, who was completing a two-day tour of the country to commemorate the victims of the attacks, said: “Tragedy unfolded in this room...the act of violence was designed to change New Zealand, but instead the grief of the nation revealed just how deep your wells of empathy, compassion, warmth and love truly run.”

Prince William (left) and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (centre) meet with members of the Muslim community at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch
AFP/Getty Images

The duke praise New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for her “extraordinary leadership” of “compassion and resolve,” saying she provided an example “to us all”.

And he described the “almost unthinkable” wisdom and grace of Imam Gamal Fouda in the aftermath of the attack.

Prince William alongside PM Jacinda Ardern
EPA

William told the Imam: “Your words in the days after the attack moved the world. Your reminder that the victims needed to be remembered both as Muslims and as New Zealanders showed that grief revealed you to be a man of great wisdom. You could not have been more right when you said that this country is unbreakable.

He continued: “On the map, New Zealand may look like an isolated land. But on the weeks that followed March 15 the moral compass of the world was centred here in Christchurch. You showed the way we must respond to hate: with love.”

The duke’s speech at Al Noor mosque comes after he enjoyed a heart-warming moment with a five-year-old victim of the attack after she woke from a coma. He was visiting Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland, and he spent time at the bedside of Alen Alsati, who was critically injured during mosque shootings.

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Alen was in a coma until earlier this month. When she awoke she was unable to see, speak or eat by herself but has been making small steps in her recovery.

Earlier this week it was reported she had started to speak again and she was able amid smiles and jokes to ask William if he had a daughter of his own. He responded: "Yes, she’s called Charlotte. She’s about the same age as you.”

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