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The King has made a surprise appearance in Manchester where he is visiting the Heaton Park synagogue - meeting those impacted by a terror attack there. Charles is meeting members of the congregation at the synagogue as well as workers from the emergency services, who responded to the attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, which left two men dead. He has travelled to the synagogue, which reopened for the first time since the attack last week, to show his continued support to the Jewish Community and those impacted by the horrific attack. Adrian Daulby, 53, and Melvin Cravitz, 66, were killed when Jihad Al-Shamie, 35, first drove a car into a security guard and stabbed a congregent before attempting to force entry into the synagogue on October 2. Members of the community barricaded the entrance and Mr Daulby died after being struck by police gunfire while helping to prevent the attacker entering. It is the king’s first visit to Manchester since the attack. In a statement issued on the day of the attack, Charles said he and Queen Camilla were "deeply shocked and saddened" to hear about the attack, "especially on such a significant day for the Jewish community". "Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this appalling incident and we greatly appreciate the swift actions of the emergency services," the statement added. As well as meeting those impacted by the attack, which includes some of those who were at the synagogue that day, the King will meet emergency service personnel to acknowledge their efforts in supporting the local community. The King's trip to Manchester is his first official public appearance since it emerged that his younger brother Prince Andrew has relinquished his titles, including Duke of York, amid a growing scandal. Both Andrew and the Royal Family could face further embarassment as the publication of Virginia Giuffre's memoir is imminent - the same week that the King is set to travel to the Vatican to pray with the Pope. In addition, the Metropolitan Police said it would look into claims in the Mail on Sunday that Andrew had passed Ms Giuffre’s date of birth and social security number to his taxpayer-funded bodyguard in 2011 and asked him to investigate. He is also said to have emailed the late Queen Elizabeth II’s then-deputy press secretary and told him of his request to his protection officer, and also suggested Ms Giuffre had a criminal record. A Met spokeswoman said: “We are aware of media reporting and are actively looking into the claims made.” The allegations are the latest to emerge against the prince, who relinquished his dukedom and other honours on Friday, after excerpts from the posthumous autobiography of Ms Giuffre were released. The book is to be published on Tuesday, a day before Charles begins a state visit to the Holy See, during which he will become the first British monarch to pray at a public service with the Pope since the Reformation. Charles, Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and Pope Leo XIV, head of the Catholic Church, will pray together during an ecumenical service in the Sistine Chapel, a symbolic moment of the continuing dialogue between their two churches. The two-day visit to the Holy See, the government of the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican, is understood to be deeply significant for the King personally and will celebrate the papal jubilee held every 25 years.
