LONDON (AP) — King Charles III is visiting the seaside town of Southport to meet with survivors of the stabbing rampage that killed three young girls and sparked more than a week of unrest across the U.K.
The monarch traveled to the community northwest of Liverpool on Tuesday for a private meeting where he will hear the experiences of some of the children who were attacked at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29.
Crowds cheered for the king as he arrived at Southport Town Hall, where mourners have placed bunches of flowers and cuddly toys in tribute to the slain children.
Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, were killed in the attack which was followed by rioting in Southport and across the country.
Violence rocked Britain for more than a week after the stabbings, with crowds spouting anti-immigrant and Islamophobic slogans clashing with police. The disturbances were fueled by misinformation spread by right-wing activists using social media to falsely claim that a Muslim immigrant was behind the attack.
Charles is also expected to meet with police, paramedics and other emergency service workers who responded to the attack and the disorder that followed. Local faith leaders will also attend.
The U.K.’s worst unrest in more than a decade led to some 1,100 arrests. The government pledged that rioters who hurled bricks at police, looted shops and attacked mosques and hotels used to house asylum-seekers would feel “the full force of the law.”