Amelia Thompson, Manchester bombing survivor, shares a hug with David Beckham at royal wedding
A 12-year-old girl who survived the Manchester bombing last year shared a heartwarming hug with soccer star David Beckham as she arrived at the royal wedding Saturday.
Amelia Thompson survived the attack during an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017, which left 22 people dead.
Amelia, who saw the explosion unfold, suffered injuries to her vocal chords because she was screaming so much. It took her weeks of speech therapy to regain her voice but, even when it returned, she was left traumatized by the tragedy.
"The bombing really changed her," her mom, Lisa Newton, told the Radio Times in a recent interview. "She was always very confident and loud, then suddenly she was very withdrawn.”
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In a bid to lift her spirits, her mom, who had also been at the concert, secretly nominated her for an invitation to the royal wedding.
Amelia ended up being one of the 1,200 members of the public to receive a special invitation, and allocated a pair of tickets.
As her guest, she invited Sharon Goodman, whose 15-year-old granddaughter, Olivia Campbell-Hardy, died in the attack. She said she invited Goodman to "put a smile on her face."
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Amelia had a big smile on the day, too. Grinning from ear to ear, she hugged Beckham outside St. George's Chapel in Windsor ahead of the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
The soccer star attended the ceremony with his wife, designer and former Spice Girl, Victoria Beckham.
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