Catherine, Princess of Wales delighted royal-watchers this week with an unexpected appearance alongside her husband, Prince William.
The couple popped up in Southport, a town in the northwest of England, on Thursday, where the community is still grieving after the murders of three young girls this summer.
William and Kate are thought to have spent around 90 minutes with the families of Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, who lost their lives in July when they were attacked while attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
It was also an opportunity for the pair to sit down with some of the emergency services personnel who responded to the scene and hear about their experiences and the mental health support they have received in the months since.
It was an emotional conversation that saw the princess express the couple’s gratitude to the first responders, before comforting and hugging some of those grappling with the traumatic impact of the incident.
“The Princess of Wales broke off and came back into the building to give a hug to the people who responded because she could see the emotion in them and could see it was difficult for them to relay their feelings and to say how impactful events have been,” Phil Garrigan, chief fire officer for Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, explained after the engagement, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency.
“I think that just shows a really caring side and is very, very touching for them.”
It was a big moment for the popular 42-year-old royal – her first public outing since wrapping up her chemotherapy treatment.
Royal sources told CNN that the princess’ decision to join William for the visit was not a last-minute call and that she wanted to do it to offer her support, empathy and compassion to the local community in the seaside town.
But wanting to be there and carrying out the engagement are two very different things. Ultimately, her appearance came down to whether she felt well enough on the day.
King Charles previously visited the area in August and it’s clear that the royal family don’t want the town to feel forgotten as the weeks and months pass.
The Southport engagement was designed to be a low-key event and, in fact, had not been previously announced either to the public or the press. However, it quietly supported the princess’ own words from a month ago when she revealed she had completed her cancer treatment.
In a video message, Kate had thrilled royal fans by saying she was “looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.”
Since then, she’s undertaken private meetings on some of her projects at Windsor Castle and carried out a few private visits. It all signals that her recovery is going well.
While aides would not want to jeopardize her recovery by pushing her to appear before she’s ready, the Princess of Wales’ latest appearance shows that she’s back at work, steadily increasing her workload while she continues to get stronger.
This all means she’s likely to keep her workload lighter and that we’ll continue to see these unexpected pop-ups as she makes daily decisions on engagements on a case-by-case basis. And if all continues well, it could mean she takes on more in the new year and perhaps, even, starts traveling again.
Kate joins Prince William for her first public appearance since ending cancer treatment
Britain’s Prince and Princess of Wales made a surprise visit to Southport, northwest England, on Thursday, where they met the bereaved families of three children killed in a knife attack in July.
The visit was the first public appearance for Catherine, known as Kate, since she finished her chemotherapy treatment.
Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, were fatally stabbed while attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the town on July 29.
The royal couple met privately with the families of the three young girls, as well as with their dance teacher who was present during the attack.
William and Kate – who has only carried out a handful of public appearances this year – also met with emergency services personnel who responded to the scene in July, as well as mental health practitioners who have been supporting the “blue light” community in the months since.
“I can’t underestimate how grateful they [the families] all are for the support you provided on the day,” Kate told the responders, according to Britain’s PA Media news agency, during the deeply emotional sit-down. She then thanked the frontline staff on behalf of the families.
Meanwhile, William, the heir to the British throne, told the group that they were “heroes” and urged them to “make sure you look after yourselves.”
“Please take your time, don’t rush back to work,” he added.
Following the unexpected appearance in Southport, William and Kate spoke of their “powerful” visit on social media.
“We continue to stand with everyone in Southport. Meeting the community today has been a powerful reminder of the importance of supporting one another in the wake of unimaginable tragedy. You will remain in our thoughts and prayers,” the couple wrote in a post on X.
At the time of the knife attack, the Waleses released a statement on social media from their perspective as parents. “We cannot begin to imagine what the families, friends and loved ones of those killed and injured in Southport today are going through,” they said in July, before sending their “love, thoughts and prayers” and gratitude to emergency responders.
The pair also made a donation through their royal foundation to a fundraiser set up to provide psychological and physical rehab for police and ambulance personnel involved in the attack and the subsequent riots.
CNN understands the princess made the decision to join her husband on Thursday to show her support, empathy and compassion to the local community.
Kate, 42, has been easing her way back into public life following her announcement that she had completed chemotherapy and was cancer free in a video last month. She has not revealed the type of cancer she was being treated for.
The princess said the past nine months had been challenging but that “I am, however, looking forward to being back at work and undertaking a few more public engagements in the coming months when I can.”
In recent weeks, she has been holding a number of meetings primarily focused on her early years work and her upcoming annual Christmas carol concert.
She also made a private visit to the English National Ballet a few weeks ago for a matinee show, posting about the “moving and inspiring” performance on social media afterwards.
The Wales aren’t the only royals to show their support for the bereaved families and Southport community. King Charles III made a similar visit to the area in August to meet those affected by the attack and thank frontline emergency workers.
This story has been updated.
Trump campaign asks for military aircraft with antimissile capabilities and other security measures in lead-up to election
After two attempted assassinations and an ongoing threat from Iran, Donald Trump’s campaign has ramped up requests for security, including transport by military aircraft and additional security measures on the ground at the former president’s campaign stops, three sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
Trump’s campaign wants to use these resources – including access to military aircraft with deterrent systems to protect against surface-to-air missiles – as the former president crisscrosses the US during the final weeks of the presidential campaign.
President Joe Biden, when asked about Trump’s requests on Friday, said they should be fulfilled – “as long as he doesn’t ask for F-15s.”
“I’ve told the department to give him every single thing he needs … as he were a sitting president,” Biden said. “If it fits into that category, that’s fine.”
Susie Wiles, co-campaign manager for Trump, initially made the request for enhanced measures during a call about two weeks ago with Biden’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients, two sources familiar with the conversation told CNN. Wiles then made the formal request for additional security with acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe on September 30, according to an email reviewed by CNN.
A third source familiar with Wiles’ call with Zients said Biden’s chief of staff immediately connected Wiles to leadership at the Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service “so she had a direct line.” The source said Zients made clear that the president had directed the Secret Service to provide the highest level of protection for Trump.
The requests from Trump’s campaign also include access to Camp David vehicles for Trump’s primary motorcade as well as access to other military assets, such as drones with thermal monitoring.
In addition, Trump’s campaign asked the US Secret Service to increase stockpiles of ballistic glass across several key swing states that the agency now uses to encase Trump at his outdoor rallies.
And the campaign asked for more funding for local law enforcement officials who augment the president’s security detail and for additional administrative support from Secret Service headquarters.
The Secret Service is now working on formal requests for these resources that will first go to the Department of Homeland Security and then to the Department of Defense as well as any other agencies that would need to be involved, according to a federal law enforcement official.
Two sources close to the campaign said Trump officials are frustrated that the extra protections have not been implemented given the heightened security threats facing the former president, and the campaign has begun implementing some new security measures.
According to one of the sources, Trump has started changing up his routine, taking different planes to events around the country and staying at different properties than he usually would as the 2024 presidential election nears.
The source said Trump’s security team implemented the changes because it had lost faith in the Secret Service following the two attempts on the former president’s life as well as the denial of certain resources in the past. Trump’s team maintains that its concerns are with those at the Secret Service headquarters, not with Trump’s personal detail, many of whom have been with the former president since he left office.
But Trump’s team has also been informed that some of the requests aren’t feasible for any presidential candidate. Trump has complained privately that he is forced to hold smaller rallies because of the security concerns, though every president and presidential candidate has faced restrictions on their freedom of movement because of security concerns, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Security resources are also often determined on a case-by-case basis, one administration official said.
The Secret Service maintains that “the former president is receiving the highest levels of protection,” agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement Friday. “The Secret Service will remain vigilant and continue to adjust and enhance its protective posture as needed to mitigate evolving threats.”
Guglielmi said the agency is already imposing flight restrictions over Trump’s residence and when he travels. Guglielmi also said that the former president “is receiving the highest level of technical security assets which include unmanned aerial vehicles, counter unmanned aerial surveillance systems, ballistics and other advanced technology systems.”
Still, the request for additional resources could hit roadblocks. Some of them may run into legal issues given constitutional limits on the military operating inside the United States, the federal law enforcement official said.
The Secret Service has implemented a number of changes since Trump was nearly killed by a shooter in July and after another shooter allegedly set up what prosecutors called a “sniper’s nest” outside Trump’s Florida golf course in September when the former president was playing just one hole away. Separately, US authorities have obtained intelligence showing that there is an Iranian assassination threat against Trump.
The Secret Service has increased its presence around Trump, adding members to his detail and taking extra precautions, often traveling with a counter assault team. Secret Service agents previously assigned to desk jobs or other posts also have also been brought into the rotation to protect Trump.
After Trump’s near-assassination in Pennsylvania in July, the campaign also requested that it be allowed to have an observer in command centers with local, state and federal authorities during campaign events, a source familiar with the ask told CNN. This individual would be privy to law enforcement communications and have a direct line of contact with senior campaign officials.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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