Poignant moment Kate holds hands with school friends of Southport attack victim Elsie before meeting grieving family

William and Kate, 43, visited pupils at Farnborough Road Infant and Junior School where Elsie, seven, had been a pupil at the time of her murder.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, aged nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were murdered at a Taylor Swift themed dance class on July 29 last year.

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The school visit was part of an emotional return to Southport where the royal couple continued to show their support for families affected by the murders. They first visited the area in October 2024.

Upon their arrival in the town, William and Kate, dressed in a pink blouse and 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. 

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.

Both royals spoke to members of the student council, Kate crouching down to speak to infant members while William spoke to the juniors.

The children had only been told minutes before about the special guests visiting their school that day.

Cameron Smith, 11 and Ellis Paynter, 10, were among the children who greeted the royal visitors.

Ellis said: "We were shocked! I was like, 'We get to talk to the Prince?'"

Jessica Hazelhurst, 10, said: "All of the teachers didn't get to find out until break time. We all came into school thinking we were getting photos for school council but then it was this."

Zainah Thompson, 10, said: "We were all very nervous. We talked about what our favourite lessons were.

"He said he wasn't good at maths, but said it's a good subject to learn."

William and Kate spoke to the headteachers about how the school and pupils were coping since the attack.

The headteachers both completed a skydive to raise funds with pupils for Elsie's Story, a charitable trust set up by the youngster's family.

Junior school head Mr Antell 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."

Ms Sephton, head of the infants school, added: "These children have had a tremendous shock as the whole community has, but our job is children.

"This is something that has deeply affected not only our staff, children, our families, and we are there to support them."

"Because it's not going to be solved, we knew it wasn't going to be solved in a year, children need support and adults need support for a long time."

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".

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."

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.