Kate Middleton’s emotional reaction when Manchester victim’s grandfather asked for a hug

Exclusive:

Prince William and Kate Middleton were seen wearing bracelets supporting “Liv’s Trust” which was set up in memory of Olivia Campbell-Hardy – one of the victims of the Manchester Arena terrorist attack

A charity set up to commemorate a victim of the Manchester Arena terrorist attack has received the Royal Seal of Approval.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were spotted wearing bracelets supporting Liv’s Trust.

The charity was named in honor of Olivia Campbell-Hardy, who was 15 when she was killed by suicide bomber Salman Abedi on May 22, 2017.

Her paternal grandparents, Steve and Sharon Goodman, formed the trust six months later.

Since then it has supported around 200 under-25s who love music and dance as Olivia did.

And William and Kate showed their support when they opened the Glade of Light memorial to the 22 bomb victims last week.

They wore the Trust’s bright pink £1.50 bracelets with the motto ‘We Choose Love’.

Olivia’s grandfather Steve, 66, said this week: “We met her at the official opening. When it came to shaking hands, I said, ‘I don’t really do that, can I have a hug?’ And Kate hugged us all.

“When William came over I had the bracelets in my pocket and I gave him one and Kate got one. They just said ‘thank you’ and put them on right away.”

He added: “Kate said it’s a wonderful thing we’re doing and to make sure we’re taking time for ourselves.”

Retired electrician Steve had previously met Prince William on the first anniversary of the attack.

He said: “He knew everything about Olivia. He told us that he would like to believe that his mother and Olivia were too young to be taken to a better place where they would be needed and that helped him cope.

“It was a very beautiful thing to share and to help us with our grief.

“Last week he asked us how things were going, he was interested in the charity and us.”

Olivia, from Bury, Greater Manchester, who was known to her friends as Liv, had gone to the Ariana Grande concert at the arena with her school friend Adam Lawler, also then 15.

She was killed when Abedi, just five meters away, detonated his suicide device. Adam was injured but survived.

The trust that bears her name helps families in need and has provided dance shoes and clothing, helped with audition travel expenses and paid for books and equipment for performing arts students.

It recently helped pay for dance lessons for a nine-year-old boy who had come to Britain from war-torn Ukraine.

Steve said: “Olivia wanted to be a music teacher or a dance teacher. So that was the closest thing we could do to follow her dream.”

Explaining the Trust’s motto, ‘We choose love’, Sharon said: ‘It just seemed so right to me. She was a 15-year-old child who loved life. We don’t want people to hate. Olivia was all inclusive. She hated bullying. She hated racism. She thought of everyone.”

Olivia’s parents separated when she was young and she lived with her mother, Charlotte Hodgson, but also spent two nights a week with her father, Andrew Hardy, son of Sharon and Steve.

The couple’s home is filled with memories of Olivia. Pillows are covered with her photos and Steve, 66, clutched one to his chest and said: “It’s like being cuddled by her.”

After the attack, both couples were diagnosed with PTSD.

Steve said: “Some days I’m fine and I can speak normally and other times I just freeze and can’t remember the name of anyone I’m talking to.

“We have days when Sharon gets very down and depressed and I don’t know how to help or what to do.”

Sunday is the fifth anniversary of the bombing which Steve and Sharon will mark by hosting performances by some of the young people the charity has helped.

For more information, see: