The Princess of Wales has made an unexpected appearance alongside the Prince of Wales on a visit to Southport, where they held a private meeting with the bereaved families of three children killed in a knife attack in July.
This was Catherine’s first official public engagement since she finished her chemotherapy treatment.
Royal sources say she decided to join Prince William to show her “support, empathy and compassion to the local community”.
The couple spoke to emergency responders who helped at the scene of the devastating knife attack in the north-west seaside town.
The royal visit to Southport had been planned as a low key event, to allow time to be spent in private with families of the three children who died and with the dance teacher who was present during the attack.
But Catherine was a surprise addition as she made one of only a handful of public appearances this year, since revealing her cancer diagnosis.
With her chemotherapy having ended, she has begun a gradual return to work, including meetings about her early years campaign last month.
However, this is the biggest moment so far in returning to royal duties.
Catherine has spoken of having “good days and bad days” and Kensington Palace has cautioned that her appearances might have to be flexible and be subject to last minute changes.
The visit to Southport was intended by Prince William and Catherine to show the community that it had “not been forgotten”.
The prince and princess heard about efforts to bring the community together after the knife attack
Three children were killed on 29 July, 2024, in the attack on a children’s dance group. Ten other people – eight of whom were children – were injured. Axel Rudakubana, 17, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with multiple counts of murder and attempted murder.
The royal couple also met emergency workers from police and the health services who were called out to the attack.
Prince William and Catherine have campaigned about the importance of being open about mental health problems and their visit included talking to mental health practitioners who supported emergency responders who had faced such disturbing scenes.
The couple had made a donation, via their charity, to a fundraiser to help provide physical and psychological help for police and ambulance staff who were caught up in the attack and the riots that followed.
This article was originally published at www.bbc.com
