View the image at Petra

HRH Prince Ra’ad bin Zein, Chief Chamberlain, attended a ceremony at the Amman Martyrs Site on Monday, marking the fourth anniversary of the Amman bombings. Also attended the ceremony a number of ambassadors, survivors of terrorist attacks around the World and Deputy Mayor of Amman, Amer Al Bashir.

The Amman bombings were a series of coordinated bomb attacks on three hotels in Amman, which claimed the lives of 87 people, 70 of them Jordanians, and injured 115 others.

Deputising for Queen Rania, Prince Ra’ad, announced the launch of the Global Survivor Network (www.globalsurvivors.net), an international network which will give help to victims of terrorism around the globe.

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Click here to read more about Earl Mountbatten at BBC.

 On the 27th of August 1979, Louis Mountbatten, the Earl Mountbatten was murdered along with his 14 year-old grandson, Nicholas Knatchbull, 15 year-old Paul Maxwell, and Baroness Brabourne, the 83 year-old mother in law of the Earl’s daughter. They were enjoying a leisurely holiday outing in the family’s boat on the waters off of Mullaghmore in County Sligo, Ireland, when a bomb placed on the boat was detonated by a member of the IRA.

The bomb had been placed on the boat by the IRA member the night before. It was detonated via remote control device during the family’s outing the following day. 31 year-old Thomas McMahon served almost twenty years in prison for murder after he was found guilty of placing the bomb on the boat.

Timothy Knatchbull was lucky to escape the attack with his life-and some serious shrapnel wounds. In light of the 30 year anniversary of the attack, he is speaking out for the first time about the events of that horrifying day. Earl Mountbatten was his grandfather. Nicholas Knatchbull was Timothy’s twin brother, and Baroness Brabourne was his grandmother.

In an article in Monstersandcritics.com, Knatchbull says that he “has been struggling to cope with the deaths of his family members for years”. He has been able to work through his grief and anger thanks to the support of his remaining family members. Earl Mountbatten was Prince Philip’s uncle. He also had a very close relationship with Prince Charles, who was deeply saddened by the death of the man he considered his mentor.

Knatchbull has returned to the scene of the explosion in an effort to deal with his grief. He spoke to BBC Radio 4 about the visits and stated that, “I did it very quietly and very privately in 2003 and 2004 and I found that by digging deep and finding out for myself first hand who did it and how, and indeed why, I was able to get to a whole new level of forgiveness and healing.”

Timothy Knatchbull has written a book about the tragedy called, “From a Clear Blue Sky”. It will be released later this year.

To read about, and to discuss the British Royal Family, please visit this forum.

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  Deputy interior minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef has escaped with few injuries after a suicide bomber blew himself up in an attempt to assassinate the Prince, who is largely credited for Saudi Arabia’s anti-terrorism campaign. The attack took place at the Prince’s Ramadan gathering, when the militant had said he wanted to personally tell Prince Mohammed that he would give himself up.

The Prince was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries, Saudi’s King Abdullah visited the Prince who was discharged that same evening, as was shown on Al-Arabiya channel. The Prince appeared with two bandages around his fingers. This is the first attack on a member of the Saudi royal family in decades.

Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is the son of Prince Nayef, the Interior Minister.

It’s a tradition for senior members of the royal family to hold regular open gatherings where citizens seek settlement of financial, problems or offer congratulations for the holy month of Ramadan.

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Click to see the photo at the BBC

 Today is the fourth anniversary of the terrorist attacks in London on 7 July 2005, and the day when the memorial to the victims was unveiled  in Hyde Park. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were present at the dedication ceremony, along with government officials and family members of the victims. The Prime Minister, the leaders of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties, and the Mayor of London were among those present, along with Tessa Jowell, Minister for London.

The memorial was designed by the architecture firm Carmody Groarke. It consists of 52 11-foot-tall steel pillars, one for each of the victims killed by the terrorist bombs . The pillars stand in four groups, each group representing one of the attacks on a bus and three Underground trains. Each pillar is inscribed with the date and location of the attack; the names of the victims are inscribed on a plaque standing near the memorial.

In his speech, Prince Charles recalled the terrorist attack in 1979 which had taken the life of his great-uncle and honourary grandfather Lord Mountbatten.  He said, “I never fail to be amazed by the fortitude of the British people and it was this indomitable spirit, together with the commitment, compassion and doggedness of the emergency services, which got us through that day and the weeks to come.” In these sentiments, he echoed the words of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who said on the day after the bombings, “I want to express my admiration for the people of our capital city who in the aftermath of yesterday’s bombings are calmly determined to resume their normal lives.”

 The Prince and the Duchess both laid wreaths at the foot of the plaque bearing the names of the victims, and the family members each placed a red rose and a white rose, symbolising love and peace, in urns next to the plaque.

For further discussion, see this thread. For more details about Prince Charles’s speech, please see this article at the Prince of Wales official website.

Lucia-mia British Royals Duchess of Cornwall, Memorial, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Terrorism