As the motorcade following Charlie Kirk’s hearse made its somber way through Phoenix, the window of one vehicle slowly wound down.

Widow Erika Kirk wanted to express gratitude to the crowds. Clearly emotional, she reached out to those gathered, holding onto a small source of comfort: a white rosary.

Close acquaintances have informed the Daily Mail that Erika, 36, will be leaning heavily on her faith this week, seeking comfort in this difficult time.

The devastating impact of her husband Charlie, a political activist’s assassination on Wednesday—shot once in the neck while addressing Utah students—is likely now settling in after the initial shock of his abrupt, violent death.

Erika and their two young children – three-year-old daughter ‘GG’ and a one-year-old son – were with him at the time.

Those nearest to Erika have praised her grace amidst these horrific circumstances. They have remembered Kirk as ‘the love of her life’ and described her as a ‘lioness’ determined to withstand the senseless act that claimed her husband.

In the face of grief beyond expression she is, they said, determined to continue the legacy of her husband’s work.

On Thursday she returned with her children to her native Arizona, where she and Kirk began their life together four years ago after their 2021 wedding.

Erika stepped into the spotlight on Friday evening, delivering her first public address to the nation. 

‘The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry,’ Erika declared during her powerful speech.

‘To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die,’ she added. ‘It won’t. I refuse to let that happen. It will not die. All of us will refuse to let that happen.’

‘No one will ever forget my husband’s name, and I will make sure of it. It will become stronger, bolder, louder and greater than ever. My husband’s mission will not end, not even for a moment.’ 

She also personally thanked Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, for their support and for honoring her husband ‘so well in bringing him home.’ 

Erika extended her appreciation to President Donald Trump, emphasizing, ‘My husband loved you.’

She and her husband were raising their young family in a $4.75 million Spanish-style home in a gated compound, with spectacular views of the Sonoran desert.

‘She’s devastated,’ Donald Trump said on Friday morning, explaining that he had spoken to her the day before.

But the beauty queen and businesswoman, who hosts a Bible studies podcast and runs a series of charities is, the president said, determined to continue the work of Turning Point, the organisation Kirk founded.

The donations have flooded in in the aftermath of Kirk’s death and Erika, the president said, has every intention of honoring them.

Because while it is far too soon for her to look to the future, those who know her best have told the Daily Mail she is more than qualified to continue her husband’s work.

‘She’s very confident, very self-assured, and just a very joyful person,’ said Dana Loesch, a radio host who spoke at the women’s conference Erika organized in Dallas in June.

‘I really admire that quality because not everyone is joyful, and I’m very envious of that quality. And she’s radiant.

‘She was very bright, very friendly, incredibly kind to everyone, and took a moment to speak to everyone that she that she came across. She’s formidable.’

Andrew Kolvet, Kirk’s spokesman and executive producer of his podcast, described Erika as ‘fierce and strong.’

He said she was a ‘lioness’ who made Kirk a better, stronger man.

According to Kolvet: ‘Charlie wanted to marry her because of how strong she was.’

Certainly, she will need every reserve of courage she possesses to navigate through the coming days.

Speaking from his podcast studio – Kirk’s empty chair beside him – he said: ‘Ultimately he knew that she could do this life that he was leading’.

The couple met in August 2018, when Erika arrived at the Phoenix offices of Turning Point USA – the conservative youth organization Kirk founded in 2012 – with the hope that she might be hired.

Several days later Kirk sent her a message on Instagram asking her to text him.

The couple would later record the story of their meeting for a Turning Point Video. ‘I was in the Hamptons at the time,’ recalled Erika, adding that she had moved from Arizona to New York City five years previously, to work as a model and casting director. ‘I waited a few days before I replied.’

Kirk told her he would soon be in Manhattan for a Fox News appearance, so the pair arranged to meet at Bill’s Burgers near the Rockefeller Center.

‘I quickly pivoted away from wanting to hire her to wanting to date her,’ Kirk explained. ‘And we all know how that worked out.’

It is not hard to see what the driven, ambitious Kirk saw in Erika Frantzve.

Born in Scottsdale to Lori and Kent Frantzve, both IT specialists, Erika and her older brother Travis were raised as Catholics.

Her Swedish grandfather, Carl Frantzve, was awarded the Bronze and Silver stars in the Second World War and knighted by the Swedish King, Carl XVI Gustaf, for furthering Swedish and American relations – giving Erika a lifelong respect for the military.

Erika attended Notre Dame high school, a private Catholic institution in Scottsdale, where fees are currently $17,000 a year.

And while Travis taught drumming before becoming a firefighter, remaining in Scottsdale, Erika was academically gifted and doggedly determined.

She represented her school on the track and volleyball court. She made the National Honor Roll for leadership and character. She graduated in 2007 as runner up Student of the Year, then became a National Collegiate Athletic Association Women’s Basketball athlete at Regis University in Colorado.

She switched to Arizona State University and graduated with a double major in political science and international relations, then earnt a master’s degree in American legal studies from Liberty University, a private college in Lynchburg, Virginia.

While at high school she founded an NGO, Everyday Heroes Like You, to raise funds for underrepresented charities. Charity work would see her travel to Romania, where she assisted several missions helping at an orphanage.

Erika had also entered beauty pageants from an early age and in November 2011 – on the day of her 23rd birthday – she was crowned Miss Arizona.

The accolade secured her entrance to Donald Trump’s Miss USA pageant in 2012, and although she failed to claim the national title, Erika said the competition provided a platform to advance her causes.

Speaking to Arizona Foothills magazine shortly after her win Erika said: ‘My mom used to take us to soup kitchens and constantly said we needed to share our blessings with others.

‘When I learned that by competing I could touch more people, further my causes, I knew it was a chance to make a greater impact.’

Britt Boyse, the executive producer of Miss Arizona USA, recalled Erika as a star.

‘She catches your eye with her stunning looks, then captures your heart with her warmth and character,’ she said at the time, adding that Erika was perfect in the role as ‘an ambassador, someone who can be comfortable in any situation, with many different personalities – and Erika is all that and more.’

Erika moved to New York City soon after the competition, pursuing work in modeling and as a casting director.

But then came that 2018 meeting with Kirk which would change her life.

Lila Rose witnessed those early days of the couple’s relationship. She first met Erika through her involvement with Turning Point.

A pro-life activist and president of Live Action, Rose spoke alongside her at the TPUSA women’s conferences.

‘When Charlie met Erika,’ she said, ‘I could tell he had met someone very special and had met his match.’

Jack Posobiec, the conservative commentator, said on Friday’s podcast: ‘You see Charlie pre-Erika and then Charlie post-Erika, and it’s still Charlie, but it’s more, and better.’

So much of the man Kirk would become was, friends say, due in part to Erika’s strong and constant influence.

Kolvet said: ‘Charlie’s faith became so much stronger as soon as Erika came around. He started vocalizing it more.’

Rose told the Daily Mail that the courage Erika had in her convictions impressed Kirk beyond words as did her faith.

She recalled: ‘Charlie told me before they got engaged that she was a woman of great faith.’

And this, for Kirk, meant everything. Husband, father, conservative activist, he was, perhaps above all things, a man of faith who lived and died expressing his beliefs without fear or favor.

And as she turns to her loved ones, and leans on her own faith, Erika is determined that this legacy will live on.