Slowly, as the hundreds of mourners who had lined the streets bowed their heads and applauded, the white coffin of nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar made its way by horse-drawn carriage to St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Southport.
“Let her dance to heaven,” was the fervent wish of her parents, Sérgio and Alexandra, as they gathered to pay their last respects to their “beloved angel” who was killed in the mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class nearly a fortnight ago.
Dressed in white and holding pink and white flowers, members of the funeral cortege walked in the bright summer sunshine behind the white carriage, which was drawn by two white horses sporting pink plumes.
At the front of the procession, holding hands with two other children, a young girl carried a blue teddy bear under her arm.
The mourners walked solemnly behind the coffin, past pink ribbons and balloons tied to lampposts and garden walls, while 30 uniformed police officers and a large crowd of bystanders clapped and released bubbles to show their support.
Hundreds of people then packed the church to attend the funeral, entering as the choir began to sing, while more outside listened to the service being relayed on loudspeakers.
Serena Kennedy, chief constable of Merseyside police, was among those in attendance, along with several police officers, paramedics and other members of the emergency services.
Kennedy told the congregation that Alice’s parents had asked her to deliver a public appeal for calm, following weeks of far-right rioting.
Acknowledging the little girl’s family, she said: “You have shown great courage in asking me to be here today ... to give a message from you, Alice’s family, to say that you do not want there to be any more violence on the streets of the United Kingdom in the name of your daughter.
“I am ashamed, and I’m so sorry that you had to even consider this in the planning of the funeral of your beautiful daughter Alice.
“And I hope that anyone who has taken part in the violent disorder on our streets over the past 13 days is hanging their heads in shame at the pain that they have caused you, a grieving family.”
Father John Heneghan began the funeral service by singing and playing the guitar, with Alice’s guitar next to him, as a tribute to the little girl’s love of the musical instrument.
Then, in an address to their daughter given on their behalf, her parents described their “dear Alice” as a “beloved angel” and “our perfect dream child”.
They said she was “a good girl, with strong values and kind nature. A lover of animals and an environmentalist in the making. You moved our world with your confidence and empathy. Playful, energetic, friendly, and always so respectful.
“Being around you was a privilege, we cherished every milestone. You completed us.”
They went on: “We feel shocked, unimaginable pain. We miss you.”
They spoke particularly of their grief when “the pin drops”: “When mommy says ‘good night, Sergio, good night Alice’ – and then it hits us all over again. We don’t hear you back.”
Moving forward will be “hard”, they said, and “some moments we are weak and we say wild things”. But, they said, they had made a promise to always be there for each other in moments of despair. It’s a “pinky promise”, they said.
“We’ll always have each other to rely on. We won’t be alone. We are surrounded by a wonderful community and their full support.”
The couple, who are from Madeira in Portugal, emphasised they felt thankful to also have the “full support” of two countries and to be surrounded by the “wonderful servicemen and women who serve the community”.
They finished their address by asking their daughter to “keep dancing”, adding: “Mummy and daddy will always, always love you.”
Other speakers included Jinnie Payne, headteacher at Churchtown Primary School, who paid homage to her student’s natural smile, good manners and inquisitive nature. “Let your beaming smile guide you and you will forever be in our Churchtown hearts,” she is reported to have said.
The teacher also read out a tribute written by Alice’s dance teacher, Heidi Liddle, which described her as “most kind hearted child, with thick brown hair that danced as she walked.”
A new photo, released by her family, shows Alice smiling with a lifesize cardboard cut-out of Taylor Swift in the doorway of the studio.
The nine-year-old was attending the dance class in Hart Space Studio as a special treat from her mum when she was stabbed to death alongside Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
In an emotional interview with BBC Radio Merseyside shortly before the ceremony, Father Heneghan said Alice had been “a lovely little girl, full of life”.
She had, he said, “the most glorious smile you’ve ever seen, the smile that would light up your heart, no matter what troubles you might have”.
Those who saw her smile would break into a smile: “You couldn’t not, because it was like a rainbow smile, just full of happiness.”
His abiding memory of her, from her first communion day when she “just radiated happiness”, was of a “wonderfully happy girl who brought such joy to her mum and dad – and was so loved by her mum and dad”.
He said that as Alice’s parents had paid tribute to her at a special mass held for the child earlier in the week, he was struck by “the look of love on their faces, the tears, the dignified, beautiful tears that gently came from their eyes”.
He added that they have been an inspiration to him: “They’re wonderful people – very dignified and close to each other.”
He explained that the couple believe that, as per the tenets of the Catholic faith, their daughter is now passing through death into eternal life. “So it’s not the end, it’s the beginning of new life forever in heaven. They’re very aware of that. That’s an absolutely essential part of who they are.”
This belief is helping them in their grief: “They believe Alice has risen and is dancing in heaven with the angels. They know this isn’t the end … as her dad said to me, she’s gone dancing to heaven.”
A crowdfunding page has been set up by her mother’s employer, Benridge Care Homes and Good Companions, to raise money to support the family “in any way they need it”. To date, it has raised almost £45,000.
Suspect Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, has been charged with three counts of murder and 10 of attempted murder in connection with the stabbings.
The eight other children who were injured in the attack have all now been discharged from hospital to recover at home.
