King Charles III will meet some of the survivors of the Southport knife attack later on Tuesday.
Three children were killed and ten other people seriously injured when a 17-year-old attacked participants in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29.
The 75-year-old monarch will make his first official visit to the city on Tuesday and meet with those affected by the tragedy, from survivors to local residents and emergency personnel.
According to Buckingham Palace, King Charles will first meet local residents outside Southport Town Hall before attending a private meeting with some of the young survivors and their families.
He will also visit Southport Fire Station to meet local MPs and members of Merseyside’s emergency services to hear about their experiences in responding to the incident and the subsequent unrest.
Following the tragedy, King Charles and Queen Camilla expressed their “sincere condolences, prayers and deepest sympathy” to the victims of the “horrific attack”.
“My wife and I were deeply shocked to hear of the absolutely horrific incident in Southport today,” he said in a statement at the time.
News of his visit comes shortly after Taylor invited two young girls affected by the event to one of her recent Eras Tour concerts in London. Photos posted by her mother on TikTok show the pop star meeting the girls backstage.
The Shake It Off singer had previously spoken out against the attack on social media, writing: “The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport keeps coming over me and I am just in complete shock… These were just young children at a dance class. I don’t know how I can ever express my condolences to these families.”
The suspect, now 18 years old, was charged on August 1 with three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder and possession of a knife object.
