Kate Middleton has met with the families of the Southport victims in her first community appearance since her cancer diagnosis.
The terrifying incident saw three children dead and nine critically injured following an attack at a Taylor-Swift-themed dance and yoga class in England.
Prince William and Kate Middleton previously took to their social media to share a heartfelt statement to those affected by the horror attack.
The Prince and Princess of Wales wrote: “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.”
“We send our love, thoughts and prayers to all those involved in this horrid and heinous attack.”
“Thank you also to the emergency responders who, despite being met with the most horrific scenes, demonstrated compassion and professionalism when your community needed you most.”
The Prince and Princess signed off the message, simply writing: “W & C.”
Kate Middleton made her first public appearance since completing chemotherapy last month, stepping out with Prince William on Thursday. 🤎 pic.twitter.com/r5Hepy8kMf
— Page Six (@PageSix) October 10, 2024
Prince William’s trip to Southport was announced on Wednesday, but Kate’s decision to accompany her husband was revealed shortly before he arrived on Thursday.
They had a private meeting with the families of Bebe King, age six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, age seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, age nine, who sadly died in the July attack at The Hart Space community facility.
In addition, one of the dance instructors directing the class was introduced to the royal couple.
As part of their continued support for the families, the town, it is understood that William and Kate wished to visit the first responders who responded to the site and the ensuing rioting.
They visited with the 999 service members to learn about their memories of the day and discussed the continued mental health support for employees with the chiefs of the police, ambulance, and fire departments.
Kate noted: “for you to witness that, you need support yourselves.”
She went on to say that the staff has helped people through their “darkest times.”
Kate told the emergency personnel: “I can’t underestimate how grateful they all are for the support you provided on the day,” referring to the meeting she had attended earlier with the relatives of the three young girls who had perished in the attack.
“On behalf of them, thank you.”
“You’re all heroes,” she declared to the staff.
Eight months after announcing she was diagnosed with cancer, Kate, the Princess of Wales, stepped out for her first public engagement.https://t.co/t0wOoGaiDk pic.twitter.com/489J30TuOM
— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 10, 2024
“Please remember to take care of yourself, be patient, and don’t go back to work right away.”
When asked, how the are families doing, Kate said: “They’re OK, They’re managing it differently. All the families are so different.”
They’re “processing this tragic event [with] getting support from families and officers and things like that”, the princess continued.
“Being able to have opportunities to be able to speak to different people in the community about the experience and drawing that together and sharing their experience, I think, is massively helpful.”
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The trip to Southport marks her first community visit meeting with members of the public with her husband since the end of 2023.
In March of this year, Princess of Wales Kate Middleton revealed her cancer diagnosis.
In January, the Royal underwent abdominal surgery in The London Clinic.
The mother-of-three revealed she has been undergoing Chemotherapy since her diagnosis.
