Prince Charles met survivors of the blast, which killed three people and wounded scores more, and said: "The British never get put down by these things."

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He saw himself the shell of the Admiral Duncan pub, which was devastated by the bomb, the third in a series which included attacks on the black community in Brixton and the Bangladeshi people of Brick Lane.

The Prince said: "Along with everybody else I was extremely shocked and distressed to hear about it.

"My sympathies are very much with those who were injured and their families.

'Attacks on all of us'

"The important thing is to realise that these are not just attacks on particular communities, but on all of us."

Prince Charles looks at the dozens of floral tributes

He said he hoped the attacks would help to "bring people together".

Prince Charles met survivors of the attack, friends and relatives of the victims, community leaders and representatives of the emergency services.

He spoke to several policemen and paramedics who were among the first on the scene.

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He also met community leaders from Brixton and Brick Lane.

Three people died in Friday's attack. Andrea Dykes, who was four months pregnant, and the best man at her wedding, John Light, were killed along with a friend, Nick Moore.

Grieving family

Mr Moore's family visited the scene on Monday but missed the Prince and were too upset to talk about their grief.

Nineteen people are still in hospital following the blast and four are in a "critical" condition.

The Prince later visited some of the victims, who are being treated at St Thomas's Hospital.

Staff Nurse George Boyd said: "He seemed surprised at the extent of the injuries and how bad they were and was shocked that many patients had suffered serious burns."

The BBC's Jon Kay in Soho: "Prince Charles said he was appalled by the attacks"

Dr Anne Ward, the registrar who was in charge of St Thomas's accident and emergency department on Friday night, said many staff were suffering from nightmares.

'War-type wounds'

She said: "It was horrific, it was war-type medicine, we are used to looking after victims of road traffic accidents but this was something totally different.

"There were major limb injuries and even the so-called minor injuries were burns to the hands and faces and many of these people will be scarred for the rest of their lives."

Dr Ward said: "I was working during the Brixton bomb and that was horrific.

"We took the baby with the nail embedded in its head. But this blast was worse because it was the sheer bulk of people who were brought in and the horrific nature of their injuries."

A 22-year-old man from Farnborough, Hampshire, has been charged with three murders and causing all three bomb attacks. He appeared in court on Monday and was remanded in custody for a week.