Kate Middleton and Prince William are continuing to honor the three victims of the 2024 UK knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
The Prince and Princess of Wales traveled to Southport on Tuesday to meet with the families affected by the tragedy, nearly one year after Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, were stabbed to death by a UK teen.
“A return to Southport today to see a community who are pulling together and healing in the wake of the tragic incident last summer,” the couple’s official Twitter account wrote on X, alongside pictures from their visit.
“A deeply moving visit to Southport remembering Alice, Bebe and Elsie. To see firsthand how the community, their schools and families have come together in the face of such loss – creating spaces of love, connection and hope – was incredible,” a second post from the Kensington Royal account read.
William, 43, and Middleton, 43, began their visit at Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School, where they spoke privately to Stancombe’s parents and younger sister. The couple also met with the teachers and students of the school.
“Well, I am very impressed with all of you — all the hard work you’ve done,” Middleton told the students, according to Hello! magazine. “What a fantastic thing to learn how to raise money to help other people. Fantastic, so keep up your hard work, and thank you.”
The royals then visited Churchtown Primary School, where they met privately with King and Aguiar’s parents, before they were shown a playground built as a memorial for the victims of the attack.
“Many lives were changed on that terrible day—including countless members of this school community,” William reportedly said in his speech at the playground opening. “Bebe, Alice and Elsie’s friends and classmates have come together to support each other and remember the girls in their own way.”
Speaking to the victims’ parents, William added, “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. Enjoy this playground. Be brave, be joyful and be kind.”
William and Middleton previously visited those affected by the stabbing attack in Southport last October. They spent time with a dance teacher who was injured in the attack and the emergency personnel who had responded to the attack that day.
The royals shared a statement expressing their shock and sympathy at the time of the heinous crime.
“As parents, we cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends, and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through,” the princess wrote on X.
In July 2024, Axel Rudakubana, now 18, fatally stabbed three girls and wounded 10 others at a class for young kids to learn yoga and dance to Swift’s songs.
Rudakubana pleaded guilty to the crimes and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 52 years.
