King Charles makes moving visit to Southport

King Charles has interrupted his official summer break in Scotland to make a visit to Southport, in England’s north-west.
His Majesty, who had only just arrived in Balmoral on Monday, travelled to the city on Tuesday to meet with victims of the stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed yoga and dance workshop last month.
The monarch arrived to cheers at Southport Town Hall, where he held a private meeting with some of those affected by the attack during the school holiday class on July 29.
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On arrival, His Majesty walked through the thousands of floral and balloon tributes left for the victims in a makeshift memorial outside the town hall.
King Charles, 75, who dressed in a light grey suit for the outing, stopped to read a number of the cards and messages for those impacted by the tragic incident and looked visibly moved.
The private meeting included some of the surviving children who were present at the Hart Space community centre and their families, with cameras not allowed inside.
The families of the three young girls killed in the frenzied attack – Bebe King, six; Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven; and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine – are set to meet with the monarch in London on Wednesday.
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Following the private meetings inside the town hall, His Majesty signed a book of condolences for the three girls.
Following the meeting, His Majesty spoke to locals gathered in the city centre, shaking hands and taking his time to hear from people about on what they’d been through since the attack.
It’s understood King Charles waited three weeks before making his visit to the town as he didn’t want it to be a further burden on stretched emergency service workers.
In the wake of the attack, riots erupted across the country after misinformation spread online that the suspect was a Muslim asylum-seeker.
Protesters, fuelled by far-right activists, attacked a mosque in Southport and the violence soon spread to more than a dozen cities and towns across the country.
King Charles visited Southport community fire station in a second engagement of the day, to meet with and thank frontline emergency staff for their ongoing work serving local people.
During the stop, down the road from the town hall, the monarch met with staff representing Merseyside’s police, fire and rescue and ambulance services and heard about their roles responding to the recent events.
His Majesty also met with local groups impacted by the violent disorder in Southport, including faith leaders and local politicians, during his time at the fire station.
Following the attack, King Charles and Queen Camilla said they were “profoundly shocked” to hear of the “utterly horrific incident”.
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While the monarch has made little public comment since then to address the riots that followed, he praised the “community spirit that had countered the aggression and criminality from a few” in a call with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and police chiefs.
“The King shared how he had been greatly encouraged by the many examples of community spirit that had countered the aggression and criminality from a few with the compassion and resilience of the many,” his spokesperson revealed of the phone call.
“It remains His Majesty’s hope that shared values of mutual respect and understanding will continue to strengthen and unite the nation.”
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