Members of the Royal Family shed tears for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire alongside their bereaved relatives at a poignant and emotional memorial service today.
Princes Charles, William and Harry were joined by the Duchess of Cornwall and Duchess of Cambridge at St Paul's Cathedral for the service, with Kate clearly battling tears as tributes were made to those who lost their lives in the tragedy.
Celebrities with links to the area were also among the 1,500 guests, including Adele, who had many friends in the Kensington community, who was seen openly weeping as she embraced others in the congregation.
She was joined by fellow singer Marcus Mumford and his actress wife Carey Mulligan, with both also seen crying as they struggled to keep their emotions under control.
After the service, the Royals were quick to engage with the families, providing comforting words and a friendly face for them to talk to and share their grief with.
It comes after Boris Johnson branded London Mayor Sadiq Khan's response to the tragedy 'spineless' after Tory councillors were blocked from attending today's service.
The Foreign Secretary launched a furious attack on the London Mayor who he said should share some of the blame over why many victims have still not been rehoused.
And he hit out at the decision to block Tory councillors in Kensington and Chelsea from attending even though Labour councillors were invited.
The blaze at the 24-storey tower in June killed 71 people and injured a further 70, while making hundreds homeless and is believed to have been started by a faulty fridge-freezer before spreading rapidly. As the service ended, the Grenfell banner was held aloft and carried out of the cathedral, followed by survivors and bereaved holding white roses and photographs of their loved ones.
Maria Jafari, 38, and her family met Prince Harry at the end of the service.
Harry told her mother, Fatima Jafari, 78, that she must have been very proud of her daughter for speaking at the front, before congratulating her for taking part.
As Mrs Jafari began sobbing for her husband, who was 82 when he died, the prince asked an interpreter: 'Just tell her I am so incredibly sorry for her loss.'
Meanwhile the Bishop of Kensington told the community at the heart of the Grenfell Tower fire of his hope that the tower may one day become 'a symbol of the time we learnt a new and better way'.
The Right Reverend Graham Tomlin said six months on there were 'so many unresolved issues and questions', but he trusted that the truth would bring justice and heal the divides in society the tragedy had laid bare.
He told survivors and those who lost family members in the blaze that he hoped that Thursday's national memorial service would assure them that the nation had not forgotten them.
Bishop Tomlin told the congregation at St Paul's Cathedral: 'My hope, my prayer is that today we will pledge ourselves to change, from a city where we didn't listen, where we didn't hear the cries of our neighbours because we were too wrapped up in our own interests and prosperity, to create a new type of life together, where we are turned not inwards to ourselves, but outwards towards each other: a society known for listening, compassion and love.
'In years to come, our hope is that the name of Grenfell will not just be known as a symbol of sorrow, of grief or injustice, but a symbol of the time we learnt a new and better way, to listen and to love.'
Reflecting on the immediate aftermath of the fire, the Bishop said the response from all over London, the UK and beyond had been 'extraordinary', while the emergency services worked tirelessly.
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