The Prince and Princess of Wales met privately this morning with the grieving parents and younger sibling of tragic stabbing victim Elsie Dot Stancombe during a visit to her former school in Southport.
Prince William and Kate, both 43, visited Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School where Elsie, seven, had been a pupil at the time of her murder.
Axel Rudakubana, 19, attacked a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on June 29, 2024, where he also killed Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and injured eight other children.
Today, the royal couple made an emotional return to Southport to offer their ongoing support for families affected by the tragic murders, after first visiting the area in October 2024.
Upon their arrival in the town, William and Kate, dressed in a smart pink blouse and stylish grey trousers, teamed with a matching coat, were greeted by 430 children at the infant school where Elsie had been due to start in Year 3 last Autumn.
Staff and parents, including Elsie’s mother and father Jenni and David, also joined the group, with local sources saying they were ‘deeply touched’ by the visit. There will be further engagements by the couple later this afternoon.
The royal couple were welcomed by Peter Oliver, deputy Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside, June Burns, Mayor of Sefton, Marion Atkinson, leader of Sefton council and its CEO Phillip Porter.
Jennie Sephton, head of the infant school, and Adrian Antell, head of the junior school, then introduced Kate and William to members of the school council – 16 from the junior school and 16 from the infant school.
Inside, William and Kate spoke to teachers about how the school was affected by the tragedy and the support it has provided to pupils, staff and the local community.
They also met privately with Elsie’s parents Jenni and David in the headteacher’s office. Along with Alice’s father Sergio Aguiar, David ran the London Marathon in April in memory of their daughters and the Prince and Princess donated to their fundraising efforts.
Earlier this month, the inquiry into the Southport attack heard a statement from Jenni in which she described Elsie as ‘our joy, our pride, our everything’, adding ‘we used to say we had won the lottery, the luckiest parents in the world.’
She described her daughter as a ‘dreamer’ who ‘always had big ideas and the most beautiful imagination’.
At her funeral in August 2024, Elsie’s headteacher Jennifer Sephton described her as ‘such a caring and charismatic young lady who loved to please’.
In their own statement following last year’s attack, William and Kate said: ‘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.’
It is the future king and queen’s second visit to the community, which has showed such immense bravery and solitary following the horrific attack last year.
Following their first in October last year, the Prince and Princess issued a statement, saying: ‘We continue to stand with everyone in Southport.
‘Meeting the community today has been a powerful reminder of the importance of supporting one another in the wake of unimaginable tragedy. You will remain in our thoughts and prayers. ‘
Today they will continue that promise to stand by the community with an extremely poignant visit, their spokesman said.
In 2024, they met with the families of all three girls murdered by knifeman Rudakubana, then aged 17, who was jailed for a minimum of 52 years in January.
William and Kate spent time with the bereaved families, along with brave dance teacher Leanne Lucas, who risked her life to protect the girls and was critically injured in the attack.
The couple also met with emergency responders and mental health practitioners who have been working to deliver support to the blue light community, many of whom remain deeply scarred by what they saw on the day.
A source said they ‘care deeply for the families and the Southport community, and that’s why they wanted to go back to show their ongoing support’.
In April, it was revealed that the Prince and Princess had quietly made a donation to Churchtown Primary School, attended by Alice and Bebe, to help them fund a new playground in memory of the children killed in the knife attack.
The new space is set to be honour the girls’ memories and provide an expanded space for children to play in.
The donation from the royals was revealed by Jinnie Payne, headteacher of Churchtown Primary School.
She wrote in a message shared on social media: ‘On behalf of Churchtown Primary School, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales, for their incredibly generous donation to our Churchtown Playground fund.
‘Their kindness and thoughtfulness mean so much to our whole community as we come together to honour the memories of Alice and Bebe, two much-loved members of our school family.
‘As Alice’s dad Sergio, and I prepare to run the London Marathon today in their memory, we are deeply touched and encouraged by William’s and Kate’s support.’
Prince William had promised the families and local community he would visit as soon as possible and his first visit had long been scheduled in.
But the decision by his wife to join him was more recent. It is understood that she wanted to ‘show her support, empathy and compassion to the local community’.
Kate and William’s visit to Southport marked the first public engagement for the princess since she announced that she had completed treatment for cancer and would undertake a carefully calibrated return to public duties.
Apart from a small media contingency, the visit was kept deliberately low key as both the prince and princess wanted it to remain as discreet as possible out of respect to those involved.
Their meeting with the victims’ families was held completely in private and not announced publicly until they had left. The prince and princess spent half an hour in private with each of the girls’ families.
On Wednesday, the Southport Inquiry heard that Rudakubana could and should have been stopped before launching his murderous attack on children.
Families of the children he stabbed and killed criticised the role of safeguarding services and questioned the part played by Rudakubana’s own parents, the hearing was told.
Warning signs were missed and the killer’s history of disturbing behaviour and violent behaviour not addressed, the inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall heard.
Nicholas Bowen KC, representing all the bereaved families, read a statement from the Stancombe family.
It said: ‘When a parent knows their child is dangerous, allows them to possess weapons and authorities have already visited the home, how is that not neglect?
‘If a child were malnourished or unwashed, social services would act immediately. But when a child is surrounded by weapons, involved in violent behaviour and known to be a threat, the system does nothing.
‘That is a failure. No action was taken. Why? Our daughter paid the price for that failure. When does a parent become complicit in a crime committed by their child?’
The parents of Bebe King, likewise in a statement cited a ‘chain of failures, across systems, across services, across safeguarding.’ It added: ‘There were warnings missed. Red flags ignored. Risks underestimated.’
Meanwhile, the taxi driver who drove Rudakubana to the children’s dance class where he carried out the knife attack waited 50 minutes before calling the police, the inquiry heard.
Gary Poland, who picked Rudakubana up from his home in Banks, Lancashire, took nearly an hour to call 999 despite hearing children scream and seeing them fleeing the massacre in his rearview mirror as he drove away.
When the taxi driver did eventually call 999, he was heard telling the operator: ‘I heard screaming, proper screaming.’
At Liverpool Town Hall, Detective Chief Inspector Jason Pye, the senior investigating officer, was asked by counsel to the public inquiry Nicholas Moss KC whether he would have expected a member of the public, acting responsibly, to have called 999 as soon as they got to a place of safety.
Mr Pye said: ‘Accepting that he had no duty of care, I would like to think, morally, that a call would be made.’
He added: ‘There was enough evidence that we had that he knew what was happening, yes you would have expected a phone call to come in.’
The hearing was told Rudakubana had left his home at 11.10am that day and called One Call Taxis a few minutes later, using an automated system which recognised his name as Simon.
He was picked up by the taxi just after 11.30am and travelled for 14 minutes to Hart Street where he left the vehicle and walked away as Mr Poland asked how he was paying.
When Rudakubana did not pay despite repeated requests, Mr Poland said ‘you pay now or the police are on the f****** way, you k**b’, the inquiry heard.
There was no audible response from the teenager, who entered the Hart Space building and went up stairs to the studio where 26 children were taking part in the holiday club.
The inquiry was told sounds of distress could be heard at 11.46am, just 29 seconds after Rudakubana entered the building.
Mr Moss asked Mr Pye: ‘That is testament to the speed of this horrifying incident?’ Mr Pye replied: ‘Absolutely.’
The inquiry heard at 12.36pm Mr Poland rang 999 and said: ‘I am just shook up. I can’t believe it. My heart’s going like I don’t know what. I’ve picked him up, that lad that’s done something.’
Mr Poland is expected to give evidence to the inquiry later this week.
In January, Axel Rudakubana, 18, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 52 years for carrying out the Southport attacks with a judge admitting he will likely remain in prison until he dies.
Rudakubana was handed 13 sentences including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and the attempted murder of eight other children in Southport.
Mr Justice Goose passed his sentence on a day of high drama and emotion as the teenager was twice removed from the dock for interrupting proceedings.
