King Charles visited Southport to meet the survivors and those affected by the brutal Southport knife attack which saw three little girls killed – and while there a wellwisher requested he carry out a sweet gesture for the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte

King Charles made a sweet vow about the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte while meeting tearful crowds in Southport.

Yesterday, the King greeted members of the community outside Southport Town Hall, where he was pictured looking taken aback by the huge array of floral tributes and gifts laid outside in memory of the victims who were killed in a brutal knife attack last month.

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed when a knifeman entered a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club at the Hart Space Community Centre to carry out the atrocity, leaving 10 others seriously injured.

King Charles greets the crowds outside of Southport Town Hall ( 
Image: PA)

As Charles visited the Merseyside town yesterday, he viewed a large makeshift memorial dedicated to the victims, gesturing in appreciation at the scale of it before greeting some of the crowds, some of whom appeared emotional and were in tears as the monarch stopped to speak to them.

The King then spent around half an hour with the survivors and their families before signing a book of condolence in the town hall that was opened shortly after the attack. Afterwards, he then conducted another walkabout and accepted gifts from the public, including a small silk heart from one little boy, eight-year-old Max, which prompted the King to gently pat his head.

Charles views the floral tributes to the victims of the Southport stabbings ( Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Another gift he was passed was some pink hearts crocheted by a woman called June who asked him to “give them to Kate and Charlotte”. “I will,” he promised. It came after the King expressed his “deepest sympathy” with the victims of the horrific attack as he signed a book of condolence. In it, the King used his own fountain pen to write his name and the date, adding “In deepest sympathy”.

Charles later met members of the Southport community outside the Town Hall as well as representatives from Merseyside’s emergency services and local community groups at Southport Community Fire Station.

Today the King will meet the bereaved families in London for a private meeting to again express his condolences. Royal aides said the King was keen to travel to the town to stand united with those who had suffered but also thank the emergency services who dealt with widespread riots by far-right thugs in the days that followed.

On the day of the attack, the King released a written statement saying he was “profoundly shocked” to hear of the “utterly horrific incident”. He added: “We send our most heartfelt condolences, prayers and deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who have so tragically lost their lives and to all those affected by this truly appalling attack.”