In late July, a man went on a rampage at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for little kids. Three little girls died in the stabbing, and the Southport community was devastated. The whole of England was devastated, and white nationalists used the stabbings as an excuse to go on their own racist rampages throughout the country. In those weeks, King Charles was vacationing in Scotland, and the Prince and Princess of Wales vacationed in Norfolk. Charles didn’t go to Southport and meet the families until more than three weeks later (and I theorized that Keir Starmer ordered him to do it). Meanwhile, William and Kate waited until October to meet with the families and first responders. Well, on Friday, Marie Claire released photos and information from the Duchess of Sussex’s dinner with Afghan refugees/immigrants. A short time later, Kensington Palace rushed out an announcement that Kate has invited the Southport families to her Christmas caroling show.
The Princess of Wales has invited child survivors of the Southport stabbing to her annual Christmas carol concert. The Princess, who is recovering from cancer, is holding her festive event at Westminster Abbey on Dec 6, Kensington Palace has confirmed.
It comes after the Princess and the Prince of Wales met privately with the bereaved families of Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, who were fatally stabbed during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 in Southport, as well as the children’s dance teacher. At the Southport Community Centre, they met emergency responders involved in the attack and heard about their experiences.
The Princess had set her sights on being able to stage the Together At Christmas service in 2024 despite the health challenges she faced in what the Prince of Wales described as a “brutal” year.
It forms part of her gradual return to public duties after finishing chemotherapy treatment in the summer.
The Palace said the Princess, who honoured the war dead at Remembrance events earlier this month, wanted the theme of this year’s carol service to celebrate those supporting others in need, with a focus on the “importance of love and empathy”
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“The service will shine a light on individuals from all over the UK who have shown love, kindness and empathy towards others in their communities. This year, Her Royal Highness wanted to celebrate the many people supporting those in need – individuals who have inspired, counselled, comforted, and above all else, shown that love is the greatest gift we can receive. This theme takes inspiration from the Christmas story which encourages us to consider the experiences of others and the important human need of giving and receiving empathy.”
As I mentioned previously, Taylor Swift actually did more for these families and she did it faster – before Charles even stepped foot in Southport, Taylor had already called up the families and personally invited them to her London shows, AND she met with the families backstage. That probably meant so much more to those kids and those families. As for Kate inviting the kids to her Christmas piano recital… the thing is, I always get the feeling that this show is really dull, boring and not great for kids? It seems like it would be such a chore to get squirmy kids to settle down for two hours for this kind of thing. Now, did Kate announce this as a direct reaction to Meghan’s dinner? Eh. I think Kate had already invited the families, but yeah, the announcement was probably reactive.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.