I was surprised by the Prince and Princess of Wales’s unannounced visit to Southport on Tuesday. After the melodrama and theatrics of the Trump state visit last week, I thought Will and Kate were due for another long holiday, or at the very least, a re-commitment to the school run schedule above all else. But no, they went to Southport for the second time, all to visit with the families affected by the knife attack on a kids’ dance class last year. I’m including more photos from the visit – Kate’s pink pussybow blouse is from Burberry, while her grey coat and trousers are apparently from Jigsaw. During the visit to a school, William and Kate “urged” the kids to “be brave, be joyful and be kind.”
The Prince of Wales has urged the classmates of the three girls murdered at a dance class in Southport to “be brave, be joyful and be kind”. The 43-year-old, who visited the town with the Princess of Wales on Tuesday, promised families and friends of the victims that they would “never be forgotten” and would always have their personal support.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, aged nine, Bebe King, six, and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe were killed as they played at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in July last year. Eight other children and two adults – Leanne Lucas, the dance class leader, and Jonathan Hayes, a businessman who ran to help – were seriously wounded after Axel Rudakubana launched a knife attack.
The Prince and Princess have now made their second visit to the community, catching up with bereaved families and seeing a new school playground set up in the children’s memory. Prince William called it a “testament that love will always overcome tragedy”.
The stabbings, he said, “remain difficult to comprehend”. Bebe King’s mother, Lauren, made friendship bracelets for the Prince and Princess, which they immediately put on.
The couple previously visited the Merseyside town in October 2024, when the Princess made it a priority as she began her return to work after cancer treatment. She later invited child survivors of the atrocity to attend her annual carol service at Westminster Abbey.
Surprised they didn’t say “be best.” While I’m sure all of that was written down for Kate to memorize and recite, I’m also sure that it mattered to those kids and those families. The Southport attack was a huge deal and it led to widespread riots and threats against immigrants across England. The Starmer government tried to deploy King Charles to settle things down. Personally, I think William should have gone to Southport a lot sooner – he and Kate only visited the town in October of last year, a full three months after the stabbings. And this week is only their second visit IN A YEAR to a shattered community in the wake of the attack. I guess the ski holidays and the trips to Mustique and Greece took precedence.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales will carry out engagements in Southport to show their ongoing support to the community following the attack in July 2024, in which three girls – Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe – were tragically killed at a dance class in the town. On arrival in Southport, Their Royal Highnesses will visit Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School, where Elsie Dot Stancombe was a pupil. At the school, The Prince and Princess will speak to teachers about how the school was impacted by the attack and the support the infant and associated junior school has given to pupils, staff and the local community.,Image: 1039571320, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales will carry out engagements in Southport to show their ongoing support to the community following the attack in July 2024, in which three girls – Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe – were tragically killed at a dance class in the town. On arrival in Southport, Their Royal Highnesses will visit Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School, where Elsie Dot Stancombe was a pupil. At the school, The Prince and Princess will speak to teachers about how the school was impacted by the attack and the support the infant and associated junior school has given to pupils, staff and the local community.,Image: 1039571347, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph/Avalon
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- Southport, UK, 23 September 2025: Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit Churchtown Primary School, in continued support of the Southport community affected by the July 2024 attack that killed three young girls, in Southport.,Image: 1039625398, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Phil Noble/Avalon
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- Southport, UK, 23 September 2025: Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit Churchtown Primary School, in continued support of the Southport community affected by the July 2024 attack that killed three young girls, in Southport.,Image: 1039625444, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Phil Noble/Avalon
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- Southport, UK, 23 September 2025: Britain’s Prince William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit Churchtown Primary School, in continued support of the Southport community affected by the July 2024 attack that killed three young girls, in Southport.,Image: 1039625457, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Phil Noble/Avalon
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- The Prince and Princess of Wales during a visit to Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School in Birkdale, Southport, where Elsie Dot Stancombe was a pupil, to speak to teachers about how the school was impacted by the Southport attack in 2024, and the support the infant and associated junior school has given to pupils, staff and the local community. Featuring: Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Southport, United Kingdom When: 23 Sep 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Princess of Wales during a visit to Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School in Birkdale, Southport, where Elsie Dot Stancombe was a pupil, to speak to teachers about how the school was impacted by the Southport attack in 2024, and the support the infant and associated junior school has given to pupils, staff and the local community. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Southport, United Kingdom When: 23 Sep 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Princess of Wales during a visit to Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School in Birkdale, Southport, where Elsie Dot Stancombe was a pupil, to speak to teachers about how the school was impacted by the Southport attack in 2024, and the support the infant and associated junior school has given to pupils, staff and the local community. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Southport, United Kingdom When: 23 Sep 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Princess of Wales during a visit to Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School in Birkdale, Southport, where Elsie Dot Stancombe was a pupil, to speak to teachers about how the school was impacted by the Southport attack in 2024, and the support the infant and associated junior school has given to pupils, staff and the local community. Featuring: Catherine, Princess of Wales Where: Southport, United Kingdom When: 23 Sep 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
That hair/wig wears Kate. Doesn’t she see photos of how bad it looks? Kate does not practice what she preaches.
Brave. Joyful. Kind.
Three things that she should aspire to be but that she is not. She’s actually the opposite of all of those things.
Be jobless, be lazy, be mean .
She should take her own advice. She is mean and hateful and a bully.
Yeah, I’ve struggled to even come up with a comment to this. But “be kind” is some advice she could’ve taken to heart. Creating drama at another woman’s wedding and then lying about how that woman made HER cry…yeah, she’s the one who needs this advice. Like I said yesterday, I hope the kids and adults at the visit felt comforted by their presence. That’s all I’ve got.
Those riots were terrifying. Brown and Black people were being beaten up on the streets, people were being spit on and racially abused in front of their children, hotels where asylum seekers were staying for refuge were being lit on fire. And just weeks ago, we’ve been having the same thing. Mosques being desecrated, women being attacked, one child was shot with an air gun! And not a single word from any of these clout chasers about any of it who instead decided they really really needed to cosy up to a fascist whilst fascism is rising in their own backyard.
I love that they went to Southport. But They waited until their holidays were over the last time to decide they needed to be seen giving their condolences.
These people have shown time and again, they really really don’t care about any of us and I wish more of the British public recognised that
And I really really hope that those innocent beautiful little girls don’t end up being used as a PR stepping stool as well for these people because more of than not, That seems to end up being the case
At least it gets them out of the south of England, for once.
“Be brave, be joyful, be kind”? Who is she Maria Von Trapp? I’m surprised she didn’t break out singing. (Sorry to be so snarky, it’s a miserable rainy day here and it matches my mood) It’s hard not to be cynical about this “surprise” visit when the Sussexes were pictured at a charity event over the weekend honoring first responders. Their staff should try to be less obvious on the timing of these things. Anyway, I hope the children enjoyed the visit and best wishes with their fundraising.
Sounds like she saw it on a motivational poster and decided to co-opt it.
Another day, another event where Kate’s expression doesn’t match that of the kids around her.
Yeah, it notices big time!
She must do it to give the photographers ‘the’ shot capturing faux vivaciousness and sagging face & eye bags immediately disguised. The strain on her must be horrendous.
Yup. Saw the same. The confused little faces thinking ” what’s so funny”.
I remember the pillioring Meghan got for the affirmations on bananas because I’m. A million years old. But Saint Kate can do no wrong.
Ok, can I just say, this strikes me as tone-deaf, obtuse, and infuriatingly tin-eared. Ham-fisted. These kids survived a horrific and graphically violent attack in which they witnessed their friends being wounded and killed. “Be joyful” is not adequate or remotely appropriate advice. And it strikes me as hideously passive aggressive. Who tells a traumatised child to “be joyful”? It’s just the wrong key, full stop. Wrong tone. Wrong message. This is not a happy commemoration. I mean. GMAFB. This airhead really needs to give it a rest.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
tone-deaf is really the perfect way to describe this. It just seems….off. I think the visit itself is fine but Kate’s message was just off.
Giving orders to kids who underwent a tragedy is just idiotic. Who is she to tell these kids to be kind. ?
🎯
Yeah I had the same thought that KP gave Kate those words to say.
I wonder what would happen if someone to whom she spoke the words “be brave, be joyful and be kind” asked her why she isn’t kind to M&H? I expect she would look shellshocked, rabbit in the headlights kind of thing, maybe stutter, then move along, possibly saying ‘next’.
We are very much a kind family.
Am I correct in thinking that these children were herded outdoors and sat on the ground to listen to a speech from William which he made from a podium? Is that not too formal a thing to do at an elementary school? I’m just imagining the children having to look way up at William delivering a speech. How relatable is that? Is this the way to deal with trauma. Should these mental health advocates have consulted professionals on how to approach this situation in the most helpful way? How about a kind chat with the children at their own level? Kate advising Kate to be all the things she herself cannot exemplify? Would the children feel better, or inspired, or comforted after a visit from these two? I just feel the children’s pains or fears are being exploited rather than eased here to make William and Kate appear concerned and kind. I think it’s clear to many of us that William and Kate are not kind, and concern for others is not their forte.
Yes, William gave the speech, outdoors. Kate doesn’t do speeches. I read somewhere that in one-on-one conversations with the kids she urged them, unironically, to work hard and raise money for charity.
That first photo where her silly blonde wiglet is riding shotgun on the back of her brunette extensions! Priceless!
When your wig is wearing a wig
Little kids in glasses are adorable. That’s all I have to say.
I tried to imitate her laugh and is painful! She opens her mouth to the max! She exaggerate in everything she does, can someone tell her she looks ridiculous?
“A recommitment to the school run” 😂
Thanks for the laugh, Kaiser!
Be brave, be joyful, be kind! Is that what KP have been crooning over PoWs as they set off to venture North? Please be pleasant, turn up on time, work harder and more regularly your Highnesses and unite the nation behind the monarchy . Please do it for us at KP because we like being on the gravy train and can’t have the public tumbling to the grift!
Her jaw looks unhinged. You can’t fake joy, Catty. You are a sham and a mattress.