The shooter who tried to assassinate Donald Trump downloaded images of the Princess of Wales on his phone before his attack, it has emerged.
Thomas Crooks - whose bullet grazed the former President's ear just over a week ago - had searched for Kate online in the lead-up to his assassination attempt.
Investigators had seized 20-year-old Crooks's laptop and a pair of mobile phones from his Pennsylvania home in the aftermath of the attempt - in which he killed a 50-year-old attendee and was shot dead himself by secret service personnel.
But while trawling through his internet history in an attempt to build a profile of Crooks, authorities discovered that he had been searching for the princess.
Shooter Thomas Crooks is pictured in a yearbook photoReutersWhile the would-be assassin had also searched for and saved images of Joe Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, his searches for Kate marked his only attempts to look up a non-American.
Though, fortunately, there is no evidence to suggest Crooks ever had plans on visiting the UK.
Two days after the July 12 assassination attempt, the King wrote to the former President, with his wishes delivered via the British embassy in Washington DC.
Though the King's letter has been kept private, its contents is understood to reflect that of his Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who issued a statement in the early hours of July 14.
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Crooks's searches for Kate marked his only attempts to look up a non-American
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The King wrote to the former President after the shooting
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Starmer said: "I am appalled by the shocking scenes at President Trump's rally and we send him and his family our best wishes.
"Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack."
Though Trump has mentioned the princess online in the past in a social media post, it's not known if the pair have met.
However, both Princess Kate and Donald Trump were both present at a state banquet hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2019, where the latter posed gleefully in pictures with the Royal Family.
Trump also enjoyed afternoon tea with then-Prince Charles at Clarence House during a Nato summit in London later that year.
Just over a week ago, Trump looked set for a White House return
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Just over a week after Trump's near-miss at the rally in Pennsylvania, his expected election rival Joe Biden announced he would be dropping out of the presidential race in a move which has sent shockwaves throughout the American political world.
He said: "While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term."
Biden has endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris to step up to the top job - but she'll need to secure the Democratic Party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention at the end of August to become their official candidate.
Responding to Biden's endorsement, Harris wrote: "I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party - and unite our nation - to defeat Donald Trump."
