Kate Middleton gives touching advice to Southport heroes as she returns to royal duties

today expressed her poignant gratitude to emergency service heroes who attended the in the summer.

The , 42, had previously met the families of ; Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar. Today, , Kate was pictured thanking brave rescue crews who .

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 and shook hands with the emergency workers after the conversation.

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Kate rested a hand on William’s back as she joined him to speak to a member of air ambulance crew. The Prince and Princess of Wales sat next to each other on a bench in the community centre gardens for a conversation with emergency personnel who had been involved in the response to the Southport stabbing.

The royals asked about the mental health support which had been available. Kate said the personnel had been supporting people through their “darkest times”.

She said: “For you to witness that, you need support yourselves.” The princess said she imagined the experience took “its toll” on them. One police officer told the couple of suffering anxiety following the attack and being off work. Kate and William nodded as they listened to the experiences.

Lorraine Culshaw, a living well mentor based at the community centre, said it was “lovely” to meet William and Kate. She said: “They said they could see the way everybody came together and it was really lovely they recognised and noticed that. They spoke about how the interviews were and said how emotional it was.”