King meets survivors of Southport stabbings

The King admired a sea of floral tributes to the young girls killed in the Southport stabbings as he met survivors of the attack on Tuesday.
Charles travelled to the Merseyside town to speak with some of the children injured in last month’s attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class and their families.
Crowds cheered as the King arrived at Southport town hall around 1.30pm, where tributes have been left outside in memory of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who were killed on July 29. Charles is due to meet the bereaved families in London on Wednesday.
On arrival at the town hall, which had been decked with pink ribbons, he was greeted by Dr Ruth Hussey, the deputy lord lieutenant of Merseyside, and June Burns, the mayor of Sefton.
The crowd of hundreds, which included local families, NHS staff and relatives of emergency service workers, clapped and shouted: “God save the King.”
Charles walked around the large display of flowers, teddy bears, framed photographs and balloons, stopping to shake hands with members of the public and patting a young girl on the shoulder. He gestured in appreciation at the scale of the tributes, telling one woman: “Look at all the flowers.”
Linsey Hislop, 43, asked Charles how he was feeling following his cancer treatment. “I’m not too bad,” the King replied.
Hislop, a foster carer, said she was a “big royalist” and wanted to come out to show her support. “I love the royal family, and my son is a police officer who was working during the riots so it’s really good of the King to come,” she said.
Charles was then shown inside to meet the children and adults who witnessed last month’s attack, as well as the family liaison officers who have been supporting those affected. He signed a book of condolence that was opened shortly following the attack, using his own fountain pen to write his name and the date, adding: “In deepest sympathy.”
Charles then visited a community fire station to thank frontline emergency services for their response to the incident, alongside local politicians and faith leaders.
On July 30, the day after the attack, Charles released a written statement saying he was “profoundly shocked” to hear of the “utterly horrific incident”. As riots swept the country later that week in the wake of online misinformation about the attack, the King made calls to both Sir Keir Starmer and police chiefs expressing his hope that “mutual respect and understanding” would help bring unity to the nation.
At the time, it was made known that the King hoped to express more direct support for the communities affected but that he would wait to visit until the violence subsided so as not to put an additional strain on police resources.
After leaving the town hall, the King met members of the community who had helped support Southport in the aftermath of the attack, including girls who had raised money for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital by selling lemonade and business owners who had distributed free ice cream.
Joanne Martlew, a retired emergency service worker, and her son Harvey, seven, presented Charles with a pair of Scottish cufflinks. She said she had been driving past the dance class on the day of the attack when she saw victims coming out and went to help, assisting six of those injured. Martlew said: “It was brilliant to see the King. I last saw him in 2008 when he was prince. He was just really pleasant.”
Locals remain shaken by the events of less than a month ago. Christie Clark, 27, said her “heart sank” when she saw the number of police officers lining the streets, before realising they were to secure the King’s visit. “Everything’s a bit off kilter since the attacks and the riots. So I saw the police and thought, ‘Oh God, what is it this time,’ ” she said.
• ‘I confronted the Southport attacker. He was like a crouching tiger’
Clark, who lives just off Hart Street, where the attack happened, and whose younger sisters attended dance classes taught by the same academy, said recent events could “not have felt closer to home”. “This has always been such a tight knit place but the energy is different. I think Charles’ visit will mean a great deal,” she added.
Karen Bardsley, 67, had come to pay her respects with her granddaughter, Ava, nine, who attended the same school as Elsie Dot Stancombe. She said: “It’s almost too awful to believe. At the end of the day it’s up to him to show the depth of how everyone is feeling really.”
Axel Rudakubana, 18, has been charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder. He will next appear at Liverpool crown court on October 25 for a pre-trial preparation hearing.