00:00Colin Gillis there. The Prince and Princess of Wales are visiting Southport to show their ongoing support to the community there following the attack in July 2024 in which three girls were killed at a dance class. Our Chief North of England correspondent Greg Mylon is in Southport for us. It's not the first time that William and Kate have visited, is it?
00:19No, you're right. It's a return visit. They were here last October in the real throes of the response to what happened last July. They came here on that day to meet some of the emergency responders to show support to the community and to meet the families of those three girls who died. They spent about 90 minutes with those families on that day last October. It was the first official engagement that the Princess of Wales carried out unexpectedly coming here following the end of her chemotherapy treatment.
00:49It's often said this is something they care about very deeply. Like so many families around the country, they have children of the age of those girls who were inside that dance studio last July. It is something that struck them very deeply and that's why they came then and why they're back again today.
01:05We know they've been to the Farnborough Road infant and junior school, not too far away from here, not far from the scene of that attack. It's the school where Elsie Dot Stancombe was a pupil there. They've spoken to teachers about the impact of that day on those other pupils who are still at that school and what the school's been able to do to support those pupils, but also the wider community. It's a very small community here. Everyone affected by what happened.
01:33The Prince and Princess of Wales also meeting today, Jenny and Dave Stancombe, Elsie's parents, for away from the cameras, another opportunity to talk to them about what they continue to go through.
01:46And we should remember, of course, this is ongoing for them. They last week gave their impact statement to the public inquiry that's going on, talking about that ongoing effect of the loss of Elsie to her family and, of course, the questions they have about how it was able to happen.
02:02Those questions will continue to be asked at that inquiry. And we know from the family's lawyers, it is re-traumatising for them. As much as they support that inquiry, it means they can't move on to the next phase of the grieving process until those questions have been answered and that inquiry is over.
02:17So we know from that last meeting that the support of the Prince and Presidents of Wales was hugely significant to the families. They have met them again today here in Southport.
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