The Princess of Wales has made a surprise visit with Prince William to meet the bereaved families of the Southport stabbing victims.
The unannounced trip to Merseyside was William and Kate's first joint official outing since the princess's course of chemotherapy cancer treatment ended in the summer.
The royal couple held a private meeting with the families of the three girls killed and their dance teacher.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, were all fatally stabbed during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 in the north-west seaside town.
After spending around 90 minutes with their families they walked the short distance to Southport Community Centre where they met emergency responders who helped at the scene of the devastating knife attack.
They sat next to each other on a bench in the community centre gardens for a conversation with the emergency services personnel in which they told them of the bereaved families’ gratitude for their support.
The Princess of Wales said: “I can’t underestimate how grateful they all are for the support you provided on the day.
“On behalf of them, thank you.”
The Prince of Wales told the personnel: “You’re all heroes. Please make sure you look after yourselves, please take your time, don’t rush back to work.”The royals asked about the mental health support which had been available to them as they had been supporting people through their “darkest times”.
Kate said: “For you to witness that, you need support yourselves.”
The princess said she imagined the experience took “its toll” on them.
One police officer told the couple of suffering anxiety following the attack and being off work.
Kate and William nodded as they listened to the experiences.
It is understood the engagement was planned as a solo visit for William but Kate decided to join her husband in order to show her support, empathy and compassion for the local community.
The princess has been slowly returning to a light programme of public duties following her announcement in a video four weeks ago her course of chemotherapy had ended and her focus would be "doing what I can to stay cancer free".
Kate was pictured last week hugging aspiring photographer Liz Hatton, 16, who has a rare form of cancer, after the teenager was invited to Windsor Castle by William to take pictures during an investiture ceremony he hosted.
She also made a private visit a few weeks ago to watch the English National Ballet's matinee show of Giselle at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, and posted on social media about the "moving and inspiring" performance.
William and Kate's visit follows a similar engagement held by the King in August when he also met the bereaved families and emergency workers.
Following the stabbings, rioting broke out in Southport with the local mosque targeted and a popular convenience shop attacked, with further violence across the country for a number of days.
The disorder included looting with hotels housing asylum seekers also attacked before counter demonstrations appeared to quell the disturbances.
The violence, denounced as "far-right thuggery" by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, was sparked by false claims about the identity of a teenage suspect later charged with three counts of murder.
