Royal news live: Kate Middleton meets families of Southport victims with William in surprise joint appearance

The Princess of Wales has made a surprise joint appearance with Prince William to meet the bereaved families of the Southport attacks today.

Marking their first joint engagement since Kate’s cancer treatment, the couple privately met the bereaved families in Merseyside.

The Princess is said to have attended because she wanted to show her “support, empathy and compassion to the local community”.

As well as meeting with the victim’s families, Kate spoke to first responders and the dance teacher who was present at the July attack.

Meanwhile, King Charles has issued a statement expressing his “greatest sadness” after the death of inspirational Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert.

Ms Ebert won global praise for speaking out about her experience of Auschwitz, where she lost her mother, younger sister, and brother to the gas chambers.

She passed away peacefully at the age of 100 yesterday (10 October), having previously met the King in 2022 after he commissioned a portrait of her.

The monarch said: “It was with the greatest sadness that I heard this morning the news of Lily Ebert’s death