Princess of Wales visits Southport
The royal couple met the bereaved families of the stabbing victims
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
The Princess of Wales has made her first official outing since her chemotherapy ended, visiting the bereaved families of the Southport stabbing victims on Thursday. Alongside Prince William, she met the relatives of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar. The three girls were fatally stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July.
She also met the emergency responders who attended the scene of the attack, hugging members of the rescue teams who "rushed to save children stabbed in the ordeal", said The Mirror.
The visit was "initially billed as a solo public engagement for the Prince", said The Telegraph, but it is "understood that just hours earlier the Princess decided to join him". The couple were said to have felt that it was important to "show the community that it has not been forgotten and that they will continue to offer their support".
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During the meeting with first responders, the Princess told the fire crews, police officers and paramedics that attended the scene on the "traumatic day" that they had supported the families of the victims through their "darkest" times, reported The Mirror. "On behalf of them, thank you", she said. Later on, the Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales made a donation to the National Police and Wellbeing service to fast track psychological and physical support for emergency responders involved in the attack.
The "royal mother-of-three has appeared in public on merely a few occasions this year as she underwent treatment for cancer", said Tatler, so this is another sign that she is "recovering well from her health battles of the past year".
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com