The Prince and Princess of Wales have quietly made a donation to a primary school in Southport to help them fund a new playground in memory of the children killed in a knife attack last July. 

Prince William and Kate made the emotional pilgrimage to Liverpool last October to meet with the families of the three girls who lost their lives in the attack – in the princess’s first public engagement since completing chemotherapy for cancer.

Alice Aguiar, nine, and Bebe King, six, were killed along with seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe in an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. 

Teenage killer Axel Rudakubana was jailed for life for their deaths – alongside the attempted murder of eight other children – and was handed a minimum term of 52 years in January. 

Alice’s parents have since been raising money to build a new playground at Churchtown Primary School, attended by Alice and Bebe. 

The new space is set to be honour the girls’ memories and provide an expanded space for children to play in.  

The donation from the royals was revealed over the weekend by Jinnie Payne, headteacher of Churchtown Primary School. 

She wrote in a message shared on social media: ‘On behalf of Churchtown Primary School, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales, for their incredibly generous donation to our Churchtown Playground fund. 

‘Their kindness and thoughtfulness mean so much to our whole community as we come together to honour the memories of Alice and Bebe, two much-loved members of our school family. 

‘As Alice’s dad Sergio, and I prepare to run the London Marathon today in their memory, we are deeply touched and encouraged by William’s and Kate’s support.’

In October, Kate and William met with the families of Bebe, Elsie and Alice. 

They also spent time with dance teacher Leanne Lucas, 35, who was seriously injured as she shielded youngsters as they were attacked by a knifeman during a Taylor Swift-themed summer holiday class.

Afterwards the couple spoke to emergency responders who attended and helped on the day, with the Princess hailing them ‘true heroes’, while William called them ‘true professionals’.

In an emotional post following their visit, the couple pledged that they ‘continue to stand with everyone in Southport.’

They said: ‘Meeting the community today has been a powerful reminder of the importance of supporting one another in the wake of unimaginable tragedy. You will remain in our thoughts and prayers.’

Prince William had promised the families and local community he would visit as soon as possible and his visit had long been scheduled in. 

But the decision by his wife to join him was more recent. It is understood that she wanted to ‘show her support, empathy and compassion to the local community’.

At the time of the incident the couple shared a personal message of shock and sympathy for those affected and, like her husband, the princess has kept a keen eye on events since.

In a deeply personal statement released in the wake of the attack, the Princess wrote: ‘As parents, we cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through.’

On Sunday, Jinnie and Sergio completed the London Marathon, also in memory of Alice and Bebe, and to raise funds for the playground. 

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Jinnie read a statement on behalf of Bebe’s mother last month: ‘We are incredibly grateful to anyone who made this playground possible, to the school, to the donors and the entire community. Thank you for your generosity and kindness. Bebe loved this school so much.

‘This playground is a beautiful tribute to Bebe and Alice and their light will live in the joy of the children who will enjoy it for years to come. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.’

The project reached its £250,000 target in March, while any additional funds are being donated to local charities helping those affected by the tragedy, according to the GoFundMe page.  

Head teacher Jinnie Payne said they had been ‘overwhelmed’ after receiving over 9,000 donations, with the total now standing at more than £350,000. 

‘This has been an incredibly difficult time for the whole of the Southport community,’ she said. 

‘This project is testament to the love that surrounds Alice and Bebe and their memory.’ 

The project was established after speaking to the families of the three girls and building is set to be finished in September, according to the BBC.  

Featuring a performance stage and library, the playground is set to be ‘inclusive’ and will offer opportunities to more than 700 children. 

Kate and William’s visit to Southport marked the first public engagement for the princess since she announced that she had complete treatment for cancer and would undertake a carefully calibrated return to public duties.

Apart from a small media contingency, the visit was kept deliberately low key as both the prince and princess wanted it to remain as discreet as possible out of respect to those involved.

Their meeting with the victims’ families was held completely in private and not announced publicly until they had left.

The prince and princess spent half an hour in private with each of the girls’ families. 

The couple then walked from their last meeting, with dancer teacher Leanne Lucas, to the nearby community centre to speak to the first responders.

They were met by Peter Oliver, Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside at Southport Community Centre.

William was dressed in jacket and tie while Catherine wore a brown coat and heels and looked visibly moved as they spoke, gesturing with her hands.

However, the couple then went on to meet with emergency responders who were involved in the aftermath of the attack at a local community centre to hear about their experiences and speak to mental health practitioners who have been working to deliver long term support to the blue light community in Southport.

While speaking to the emergency personnel, Kate was asked how the families of the three girls killed in the attack were doing.

She said: ‘They’re OK. They’re managing it differently. All the families are so different. Individually too they are managing it and processing this tragic event in very different ways but they’re getting support from families and officers and things like that.

‘I think being able to have opportunities to be able to speak to different people in the community about the experience and drawing that together and sharing their experience I think is massively helpful.’

Referencing the earlier meeting with the families of those who died in the attack, the Princess of Wales said: ‘I can’t underestimate how grateful they all are for the support you provided on the day.

‘On behalf of them, thank you.’

The Prince of Wales told the personnel: ‘You’re all heroes. Please make sure you look after yourselves, please take your time, don’t rush back to work.’

Kate added: ­‘Support in general has really improved for first responders across the board [but] there are still gaps there. It could be ­better?’ 

‘You can speak honestly,’ William said, which caused ­ripples of laughter. Told they could always do with more time to digest what had happened, the Princess nodded, adding: ‘Just sit and reflect.’ 

The couple shook hands with the emergency workers after the conversation.

Kate rested a hand on William’s back as she joined him to speak to a member of air ambulance crew.

William called the emergency workers ‘true professionals’ and said they had a ‘bumpy few months’ ahead but would get through it together.

He said: ‘The first thing we thought about was actually how on earth you guys are going to handle having seen what you’ve seen. So, please take your time, don’t rush back to work, do whatever you need to, talk about it, give your superiors a hard time if they not letting you have that time to decompress because it’s so important you have those moments.’

The couple posted on social media that the visit had been a ‘powerful’ reminder of the need to support one another ‘in the wake of unimaginable tragedy’. 

Chief fire officer for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service Phil Garrigan said he had a ‘really lovely fleeting conversation’ with William and Kate after they had spoken to the group of emergency personnel.

He said: ‘The Princess of Wales broke off and came back into the building to give a hug to the people who responded because she could see the emotion in them and could see it was difficult for them to relay their feelings and to say how impactful events have been.

‘I think that just shows a really caring side and is very, very touching for them.’

William and Catherine’s Royal Foundation also made a donation to the the National Police and Wellbeing Service’s fundraiser to help fast track psychological and physical rehabilitation for police and ambulance personnel who were involved in the attack and the subsequent riots. 

In January, Axel Rudakubana, 18, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 52 years for carrying out the Southport attacks with a judge admitting he will likely remain in prison until he dies.

Rudakubana was handed 13 sentences including the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and the attempted murder of eight other children in Southport.

Mr Justice Goose passed his sentence on a day of high drama and emotion as the teenager was twice removed from the dock for interrupting proceedings.

You can visit the GoFundMe for Churchtown Primary School’s new playground here.