Prince William and Princess Kate last visited Southport in October to meet emergency service staff who had been the first on the scene of the horrific attack
Prince William told classmates of three little girls killed in the Southport attack to “be brave, be joyful and be kind”.
The Prince and Princess of Wales today visited schools where Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine, were once pupils.
At Churchtown Primary School where Alice and Bebe were students, the royal couple visited the new playground opened in their honour earlier this month. Funds for the new facility were raised in part with a donation from William and Kate.
They contributed to the fundraising efforts of Elsie’s dad, David, and Alice’s dad, Sergio, who ran the London Marathon together in memory of their daughters last year.
In a speech to the school, William, 43, said: “The tragic events that unfolded in this town last year still remain difficult to comprehend.
“This playground is a symbol of how the community have come together to create such a positive place 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.
“Bebe, Alice and Elsie’s friends and classmates have come together to support each other and remember the girls in their own way… To everyone impacted on that day you will never be forgotten. Enjoy this playground. Be brave, be joyful and be kind.”
Directly addressing the slain girl’s parents, the Prince added: “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.”
During their visit to Churchtown Primary, Kate also told children the artwork they had done in the wake of their little friends’ death was “extraordinary”. Youngsters from the school explained the symbolic meaning behind three paintings, including a butterfly and bumblebees to represent their late pals.
One boy told the royal couple: “This final piece here is about how we all helped each other get through the sadness and grief that we felt at the time when we lost a very special person. The butterfly represents the three girls and the bees represent Bebe.”
Another boy added: “We were alone and we couldn’t share our thoughts… we didn’t know how to express our feelings at that point.”
Princess Kate, 43, told the students: “It’s extraordinary that, the fact that you’ve been able to put your experiences into this art work together.”
She added: “It’s very powerful.. I love the details. You have created this totally unique piece of artwork and its very unusual for young people to express very bad, hard and difficult emotions like you have done, and to have done it through art is a very clever and expressive way.”
Prince William added: “Well done you guys. Not only is it really lovely art but it has such strong meaning behind it.”
Earlier the royals had been greeted by hundreds of excited children waving Union jack flags as they arrived at Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School, where Elsie would have been due to start Year 3 last autumn.
The youngsters had only been told minutes before their arrival who the VIP visitors were and erupted into thunderous cheers when the royal cars pulled into the playground.
Headteachers at the school thanked the couple following a “tremendously stressful” year after William and Kate asked how the school had coped since the attack.
Adrian Antell, head of the attached junior school, said: “Every day is different. Elsie didn’t arrive with her class in September when she should have come. So we have had to change support around the class that she is sadly no longer part of.
“We talked about how we support as a community, the community events we had… Find positives out of sadness.
“Today is another example of that. Every child here, every staff member here, is going to remember today for the rest of their lives.
“And although we’d all rather Elsie was in our school, we have to deal with the cards we’ve been dealt and so we find positivity and good things out of sadness.”
The couple spent more than an hour at both schools before holding private meetings with the parents of the three little girls. During their meeting, Bebe’s mother Lauren King gifted Kate and Prince William friendship bracelets she’d made, which featured her little girl’s name. Both the Prince and Princess were later photographed wearing them.
It was the second time William and Kate have visited Southport since the attack which left 10 others, including eight children seriously injured. The couple hugged emergency service staff who had been the first at the scene of the attack during their last visit to the seaside town in October 2024.
The couple said at the time: “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.”