Blitz Bureau
SOUTHPORT: The Princess of Wales, Catherine, has made a last-minute decision to join her husband, the Prince of Wales, to meet the families of the three girls killed in the Southport knife attack.
The visit marked her first public engagement since completing chemotherapy treatment and the couple’s first joint public engagement since her Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey on December 15 last year.
It was also the first time the Princess has spoken in public since stepping back from the spotlight in January for major surgery followed by cancer treatment. The Prince and Princess spent 30 minutes with each of the families of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who were stabbed to death at a Taylor-Swift themed dance class at the Hart Space Community Centre on July 29.
Later at Southport community centre, the couple met emergency responders who had helped the victims, as well as mental health practitioners who have been providing them with longterm support.
The unannounced visit was initially billed as a solo public engagement for the Prince, but it is understood that just hours earlier, the Princess decided to join him in order to show her support and compassion for the community
