Southport stabbings: King Charles visits tribute site for victims filled with flowers, teddies and balloons

The King was deeply moved as he walked amid a sea of flowers, teddies and balloons gathered in tribute to the three innocent children killed in the Southport attack.

And it appears the huge crowds that came to see him as he visited the Merseyside town three weeks after the July 29 tragedy that shocked the nation were equally touched.

Some clapped as his Majesty passed, while others cheered and shouted: “God save the King.” Others were so emotional they cried as he stopped to speak to them.

Charles, 75, cut into his Scottish holiday to visit the town still reeling after the killings of nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, and the equally senseless rioting that followed.

The King, who is still undergoing weekly cancer treatment, has long planned to make a pilgrimage but wanted to wait until those affected were ready for a royal visit and there was less strain on the emergency services.

Yesterday he met some of the children who survived the stabbings at a Taylor Swift-themed dance and bracelet-making summer holiday camp at the Hart Space Community Centre, which as well as the fatalities left ten injured.

He will also meet with the grieving families of the three dead girls at Buckingham Palace today after they were invited by the singer who has also expressed her devastation at the tragedy – to attend her concert in the capital.

The King is then expected to return to Balmoral.

Outside he viewed a large makeshift memorial dedicated to rhetorical victims.

While the flowers remain there permanently, volunteers carry out the toys that have been left when the weather is good. He gestured in appreciation at the scale of it, marvelling to one woman: “Look at all the flowers.”

The King also affectionately patted one young girl on the shoulder as he went on a walkabout and one little boy, Max, eight, gave him a small red silk heart he had made himself, prompting Charles to gently pat his head in thanks.

The monarch was also given some pink hearts crocheted by a woman and promised to “give them to Kate and Charlotte”.

Slowly making his way along the barriers, accepting small gifts, many locals told him how much they appreciated his visit. “Thank you so much for coming, it means an awful lot,” said one.

Linsey Hislop, 43, asked him about his health, to which the King replied: “I’m not too bad.”

He spent around half an hour with the survivors and their families before signing a book of condolence that was opened shortly after the attack.

Later he met with emergency service personnel who assisted on the day of the fatal stabbings and the subsequent violence sparked by false online rumours about the assailant.

The King expressed his profound “shock” but spoke of his heartfelt appreciation of the way in which the local community has rallied around its own.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, from Banks, Lancashire, will stand trial next year after being charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder.