The Prince of Wales told a yoga teacher who survived the Southport attack “you’re so brave”, and she said it was “like meeting an old friend again” after they chatted at a garden party.
Leanne Lucas told William about her Let’s Be Blunt campaign when she was invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace on Friday afternoon.
Ms Lucas began her campaign in the wake of the attack in Merseyside in July 2024 that saw Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, murdered – and eight children and two adults hurt.
The Prince and Princess of Wales hosted a garden party at Buckingham Palace on behalf of the King, and met guests from a number of both their patronages, military affiliations and passion projects including Homewards and tenants across Duchy of Cornwall sites.
Zara Tindall and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh also attended the event.
Ms Lucas wants knife manufacturers and the general public to stop the use of pointed-tip kitchen knives, which can become deadly weapons in the wrong hands.
During their chat, Ms Lucas told the prince about her campaign and he also asked how she was doing personally, telling her “you’re so brave”.
After they spoke, she said: “I met William and Kate when they last came to Southport, so I’m a surviving teacher of the Southport attack 2024, so really it was like meeting an old friend again, because we had such personal conversations last time we met.
“William wants to check that I’m also keeping an eye on my wellbeing as well as all the knife crime campaigning we’re doing.”
She said that the prince was “really keen” to know about her campaign but was also “checking in on how I am” and “it was a nice conversation”.
She added: “Today is just magical, it’s a once in a lifetime experience, so I’m really honoured to even be invited let alone get to see them again.”
Of her conversation with Kate, who was wearing a Self Portrait dress and a vintage hat, she said: “Last time I met her I was quite down, we met them while the inquiry was going on, so she just said she is so happy to see me full of energy and passion and enthusiasm again and she’s like ‘it’s so nice to see you back to the way that you should be and the way that you were before everything terrible happened’, so it was nice.”
During a typical summer gathering, around 27,000 cups of tea, 20,000 sandwiches and 20,000 slices of cake are consumed by those invited, who can wear their national dress, or lounge suit for men and summer dress for women.
Many of the guests took photos of the royals, with some shaking hands, chatting and posing for photos with them.
Rhian Mannings, who had an emotional conversation last year with William about her husband’s suicide, spoke to him on Friday and afterwards said he is “always so supportive”.
William was filmed in a moving conversation with the campaigner last year, whose one-year-old son George died after suffering a seizure in 2012 and whose husband Paul died by suicide five days later.
After they spoke, she said: “I’ve met him quite a few times and in October I was really fortunate he came out to the house and met myself and my children, and we sat and talked about the importance of talking about mental health about bereavement and around how we can prevent and work together to support those bereaved by suicide as well.”
She added that it was “surreal” and “as always, [he was] just absolutely lovely and always so supportive”.
Maria Butler, from Buckinghamshire, who was among the crowds, caught Kate’s attention and gave her some “Never Alone Buddies”, knitted at a socially prescribed group.
Meanwhile, a woman in the crowd offered Zara some cake, which she politely declined, but had a chat with her afterwards.
