The following is the statement written by Queen Elizabeth II and read aloud by the British ambassador to the United States at the time, Sir Christopher Meyer, at the prayer service in St. Thomas Church, New York City on September 21, 2001.
You come together today in St. Thomas Church in New York united in sorrow by the terrible events of last week. Each and every one of us has been shocked and numbed by what we have witnessed in these recent days.
But none of us should doubt the resilience and determination of this great and much loved city and its people. Men and women from many nations, from many faiths and from many backgrounds were working together in New York City when this unimaginable outrage overtook them all.
At your service today, we think especially of the British victims. For some of them, New York was simply a stopover on some busy travel schedule. For others it was a workplace of excitement and of opportunity. For many it was a familiar second home.
These are dark and harrowing times for families and friends of those who are missing or who suffered in the attack - many of you here today. My thoughts and my prayers are with you all now and in the difficult days ahead.
But nothing that can be said can begin to take away the anguish and the pain of these moments. Grief is the price we pay for love.
May we never forget those whose lives where lost that day twelve years ago, nor the lives of those who have perished in acts of terrorism or have made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of liberty and freedom since.
May God bless the United States and the United Kingdom, and may the Special Relationship between our nations be forever strong and enduring.
Photo Credit: Rocky Lubbers via Flickr cc
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