Britain’s queen makes quake donations to Japan, NZealand

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has made personal donations to help the victims of the deadly earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand, her office said Friday.

She has already sent messages of sympathy to both countries following the giant quake and tsunami which struck Japan on March 11, leaving nearly 17,000 dead or missing, and the quake that hit Christchurch last month.

“The queen will be making a personal donation to both the Christchurch earthquake appeal in New Zealand and the Japanese disaster fund,” said a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman did not disclose the amount of the donations.

The queen’s grandson Prince William, the second-in-line to the throne, is currently in Christchurch to pay tribute to the estimated 182 people who died in the 6.3-magnitude New Zealand earthquake on February 22.

He offered condolences Friday for the “horror” now engulfing Japan, where authorities are struggling to restore power to a stricken nuclear power station following the 9.0-magnitude quake off the northeast coast.