The parents of six-year-old Bebe King, the youngest victim of the Southport knife attack, have taken their first family holiday without her, travelling to Disneyland Florida to escape the pain of her loss. Lauren and Ben King shared images from the trip on Instagram via their charitable group Bebe's Hive, marking a year since the horrific attack that claimed their daughter's life.
In a poignant post, the couple wrote: 'As you all know, August was unimaginably hard for us last year. This year, we’ve come to the happiest place on earth to try to escape it and make memories with family. Bebe isn’t here with us in the way we wish she was - but her light, laughter, and sparkle are woven into every step we take.' The family wore matching t-shirts and bumble bee headbands, a symbol adopted to immortalise Bebe.
Bebe was one of three girls killed in the attack on a dance class in Southport last July. Seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar also died when Axel Rudakubana, then 17, stabbed children with a kitchen knife. Ten others were injured, including dance teacher Leanne Lucas and bystander Jonathan Hayes.
In the wake of the tragedy, the families have set up charitable foundations in memory of their daughters: Bebe's Hive, Elsie's Story, and Alice's WonderDance, which aims to 'spread magic' honouring Alice's love of dancing. The Kings' holiday to Disneyland represents a bittersweet attempt to find joy amid grief, with Lauren and Ben noting that Bebe's 'light' is with them 'always and forever.'
