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Prince William and Princess Kate are in Southport today (Image: PA)
Prince William and Princess Katewere “incredibly struck” by how the Southport community has come together following the brutal murders of three children last July. William and Kate met privately with the bereaved families of Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, who died at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
They also met with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, who ran the event and was critically injured in the attack, and teaching assistant Heidi Liddle, who protected one of the children from perpetrator Axel Rudakybana by hiding in a toilet. The prince and princess’s emotional return to the Merseyside town, having first visited Southport last October, saw them visit the two schools the victims attended.
While visiting Churchtown Primark School, William told children and staff to “be brave, be joyful and be kind” as he vowed they “will always be here to support you”.
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Looking visibly moved, the future king praised the way the classmates “have come together to support each other and remember the girls in their own way”.
The prince and princess are said to care deeply about the bereaved families and the Southport community, and wanted to return to demonstrate that.
Arriving at Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School, where Elsie was a pupil, to bright sunshine and loud cheers from pupils waving Union flags, Kate and William spent time speaking to young members of the school council.
The Princess, dressed in a pink blouse, grey trousers and a matching coat, made a beeline for the younger pupils, crouching down to speak to them, while William chatted to the older children.
Inside, William and Kate spoke to teachers about how the school was affected by the tragedy and the support it has provided to pupils, staff and the local community.
They also spent around 20 minutes in an “emotional” private meeting with Elsie’s parents Jenni and David in the headteacher’s office, who then introduced them to some of the teachers and teaching assistants who had known their daughter.
Prince William and Princess Kate arriving in Southport on Tuesday (Image: PA)
Kate was given a posy of pink and white flowers – made by the same florist who created the school’s wreath for the little girl and which contained a silver fabric butterfly, just as the wreath had.
The royal couple had also spent time chatting to Jennie, who is head of the Infants School, and Junior School headteacher Adrian Antell and heard how both had taken part in a skydive to raise funds for Elsie’s story.
“You went skydiving?! ” William asked, clearly impressed. “Oh no! It’s the first time for both of you, I take it?” Asked if he had ever done one, he said: “I’ve parachuted, I’ve not skydived. I’ve parachuted into the sea.
The headteachers explained that pupils had paid £5 to Elsie’s Story to break 15 rules, and they had pledged to jump out of a plane at 15,000ft if they reached a £15,000 target.
Children from the school council had earlier told the Prince and Princess how they wore ties around their heads, sprayed their hair in different colours and wore pyjamas to school.
“Well I am very impressed with all of you, all the hard work you’ve done,” Kate said. What a fantastic thing to learn how to raise money to help other people. Fantastic, so keep up your hard work and thank you.”
Prince William and Kate speak to staff during a visit to Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School (Image: Getty Images)
Just 10 minutes before they arrived, the children were told who their VIP visitors would be, and they were told they needed to look smart for photographs.
It is understood that it was important for the Stancombes for the Prince and Princess to visit, and they both very much wanted to be there.
Mr Antell said: “I would like to thank the royal couple for coming today and for coming to our school and for coming to Farnborough Road and recognising what we did.
“They spoke so wonderfully about what this community has done together, and they thanked this community for the work they have done, I think that’s really important we get that out.”
Asked how the school had coped with the tragedy, he said: “Every day is different and every child is different. Sadly Elsie didn’t arrive with her class in September, when she should have come. So we’ve had to change support around the class that she’s sadly no longer part of, as well as other children in the school who’ve been impacted by the tragedy.”
Both schools have received extra funding from the local authority to pay for play therapy, counselling, and staff training in trauma approaches. The school has also received donations, including a new garden created by the Southport Flower Show.
“Out of a terrible tragedy, people have been kind to us as a school community and have looked after us,” said Adrian.
During the visit, Prince William also recommended Child Bereavement UK, of which he is patron, and whose northern lead, Sophie Cartwright, is coincidentally a former pupil of Farnborough Primary School.
The couple then travelled five miles to nearby Churchtown Primary School, where Alice and Bebe attended.
Kate and William sat down with the parents of the two girls, with Bebe’s mother, Lauren, gifting the royal couple friendship bracelets she had made, which featured her little girl’s name. Both royals could be seen wearing them throughout their visit.
They then toured a new commemorative playground that had been created in Alice and Bebe’s honour.
They were told how part of the playground while designed to encourage physical development, while others were used for putting on plays or dancing – and even has a playlist at lunchtimes, or even quiet reflection.
It was built after a successful fundraising campaign, which included a private donation from the prince and princess and money raised after Alice and Elsie’s dad and the school’s head teacher, Jinnie Payne, ran the London Marathon.
The Prince and Princess of Wales with junior school headteacher Adrian Antell (Image: PA)
The Princess of Wales chats to pupils at pupils at Elsie’s school, Farnborough Road School (Image: PA)
Speaking in front of the playgroup, William said: “The tragic events that unfolded in this town last year still remain difficult to comprehend.
“Last year, Alex and Sergio, [Alice’s parents] you told us you wanted to create a special playground in memory of the girls and here we are.
“This playground is a symbol of how the community have come together to create such a positive space for the pupils of this school – a symbol of remembrance and resilience, a testament that love will always overcome tragedy.
“Many lives were changed on that terrible day – including countless members of this school community.
“To the teaching community here at Churchtown Primary and Farnborough Road, where we visited this morning – each and every one of you has gone above and beyond to help heal this incredible group of young people. Thank you.
“To Alex and Sergio, Lauren and Ben, Jenni and David – you are parents united in grief. You have faced such horror – but from that you move forward with grace and fortitude – creating the most remarkable legacies for your girls. We will always be here to support you.
“To everyone impacted on that day you will never be forgotten.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales met with Emergency Responders on their last visit to Southport (Image: PA) Stay up-to-date with the latest Royal news Join us on WhatsApp
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Earlier on their visit, the prince and princess joined some of Alice’s classmates in the school library to discuss the art therapy that has helped the now Year 6 pupils, aged between nine and ten, cope with such a traumatic experience.
The children point out three pictures on the wall which they had worked on together as a ‘emotional journey piece’.
Kate said: “It’s extraordinary that, the fact that you’ve been able to put your experiences into this art work together. Gosh it’s very powerful.
“It’s very unusual for young people to be able to express bad, hard and difficult emotions like you’ve done. That you’ve done it through art is a really clever and really expressive way.”
Alex, Alice’s mother said William had asked her whether Alice would have been proud of what they had achieved and she told him how her daughter would have been on the playground stage ‘dancing all day’.
Headteacher Jinnie Payne added: “It meant an awful lot for them to come to our school today. To see Their Royal Highnesses on the stage, a part of what went have built for the playground and see the faces of the children and staff was really a special moment. The children’s smiles, their amazement that Their Royal Highnesses had spent time to come to our school, that’s something we will talk about for a long time. And celebrate that achievement for the children.
“It’s been tricky navigating the whole journey but what we have done as a school community is talk about things. At times that has felt uncomfortable but that openness and that therapeutic support through art that the princess particularly picked up on has allowed them to talk about their emotions and celebrate their achievements.
“The prince and princess talked about how many different things there were to do for the children in the playground. The Princess commented on how we had brought the creativity out onto the playground, giving the space for the children to do drawing and colouring outside.”
Commenting on the visit, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said: “The Prince and Princess were incredibly struck by how the community in Southport have come together in the face of deep adversity, showcasing the power of love, connection and hope for the future.”