King Charles has issued a statement about the Washington D.C plane crash saying that the royal family is “profoundly shocked and saddened.” In a personal message distributed by Buckingham Palace this afternoon, the King also expressed deepest sympathy to the loved-ones of the victims and paid tribute to emergency responders.

“My family and I have been profoundly shocked and saddened by the dreadful news of the tragic air accident in Washington, D.C., which has led to such a devastating loss of life,” the message read. “Our hearts, and our special thoughts, are with the people of the United States and our deepest possible sympathy goes to the families and loved ones of all the victims. I would also like to pay a particular tribute to the emergency responders who acted so quickly to this horrendous event.”

The message was signed Charles R to show that it was directly from the King. The R is for Rex which is King in Latin.

Earlier this week, the UK’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed similar sentiments in a message posted on social media. The devastating collision between an American Airlines passenger plane and a Black Hawk military helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport has dominated the news in the UK since it happened on Wednesday. Per the BBC, officialshave now recovered the black box from the helicopter, which was carrying three soldiers. They all died along with the 64 people on board the American Airlines plane. The cause of the crash is still being investigated.