Queen Elizabeth marks 9/11 anniversary: ‘Thoughts and prayers’

Queen Elizabeth II marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11 on Saturday by offering her sympathies to the United States.

“My thoughts and prayers — and those of my family and the entire nation — remain with the victims, survivors and families affected, as well as the first responders and rescue workers called to duty,” the Queen said.

“My visit to the site of the World Trade Center in 2010 is held fast in my memory. It reminds me that as we honor those from many nations, faiths and backgrounds who lost their lives, we also pay tribute to the resilience and determination of the communities who joined together to rebuild,” she added.

There were 67 British nationals who died on 9/11 during the terrorist attacks in the U.S., The Associated Press reported. 

The U.S. received support from around the world after the attacks occurred and on the 20th anniversary, with “The Star-Spangled Banner” played during a special Changing of the Guard ceremony at Windsor Castle on Saturday. 

“They failed to drive our nations apart, or cause us to abandon our values, or to live in permanent fear,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement Saturday, highlighting that the terrorists did not “shake our belief in freedom and democracy.”

U.S. Ambassador Philip Reeker thanked the queen for her gesture on the anniversary of the attacks, according to the AP.

“Speaking for the United States, we have no closer ally and no closer friend, in good times and in bad times, and we are very much reminded of that today … through the enduring relationship between our two countries,” Reeker said.