Kate Middleton made a surprise appearance on Thursday when she joined Prince William for an emotional visit with the families of three girls who died following a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga class in Southport, England.
The outing marks Princess Kate’s first joint engagement with her husband since completing chemotherapy treatment for an unspecified form of cancer. While Prince William was scheduled to meet with the families, Kate’s attendance was not announced by Kensington Palace in advance as aides said the visit was kept deliberately low-key out of respect for the grieving families and those involved in the tragedy.
The Prince and Princess of Wales spent half an hour with the families of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar, who died following the July 29 attack. Further details of the meetings will remain completely private.
They also met with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, who was injured during the frenzied attack. William and Kate also met with emergency responders, including the air ambulance who responded on the day of the attack, with the princess hailing them as “true heroes,” while William called them “true professionals.”
When asked how the families were doing by some of the emergency workers, Princess Kate, who wore a chocolate brown coat and polka dot dress, responded, “They’re OK. They’re managing it differently. All the families are so different. Individually too they are managing it and processing this tragic event in very different ways, but they’re getting support from families and officers and things like that.
“I think being able to have opportunities to be able to speak to different people in the community about the experience and drawing that together and sharing their experience, I think, is massively helpful.”
Princess Kate is said to have hugged several of the emergency responders who remain traumatized by what they witnessed in the crime’s aftermath.