For many of us, losing a child is our worst fear. But losing a child publicly and in traumatic circumstances tips into the unimaginable.
For Kuoni's Lauren King, this nightmare became a reality when her six-year-old daughter Bebe and two other little girls – Elsie and Alice – were murdered by a stranger in their hometown of Southport in July last year.
But from the depths of her grief, Lauren has summoned the strength to create a lasting legacy in Bebe's name, one she hopes will offer consistent, enduring support long into the future for grieving children.
Bebe's name, says Lauren, was inspired by legendary blues singer B. B. King, following hers and husband Ben's honeymoon roadtrip around California, and their daughter embodied his adventurous, compassionate and creative spirit.
“She was pure light, that girl,” Lauren recalls with a smile. “She'd walk into the room and she would command it. She always had that little bit of sass, but she was just the most loving, caring little girl, and terribly funny. She was just brilliant – my little mini-me.”
Lauren said since Bebe’s death, it’s been a comfort to hear stories about her from countless people – even strangers.
“One lady reached out and said she’d forever be grateful for what Bebe did for her daughter at a dance class – she just grabbed this girl’s hand and got her up there! She gave her confidence.
“She was a remarkable kid for her age. I learn something new about my child all the time, and it's those glimmers that we always look out for now as a family. We look for the light in the dark – I’m so proud to be her mum.”
Bebe's Hive
It’s these pillars of her daughter’s personality that gave Lauren the kernel of the idea for Bebe’s Hive – a community interest company (CIC) set up to honour Bebe's memory, which TTG Media has now named as our chosen cause for 2026.
“It's the distillation of this light I’ve been talking about,” Lauren explains. Bebe’s Hive is a “grief-informed”, creative support project for bereaved children and families. It aims to provide a community for these young people, and help them find comfort, express their feelings and begin to heal – “turning love and memory into something beautiful through art, play and imagination”.
Its tag line is: “Born from loss. Rooted in love. Guided by Bebe.”
The idea for the project came about after Lauren took comfort in making friendship bracelets “for Bebe”, inspired by one Bebe had made for her shortly before she died, which read “Mummy”. “I just needed something to do with my hands and I ended up making hundreds,” Lauren recalls.
“Then, one day, I was chatting to Jen [Elsie Dot Stancombe’s mother Jenni] about how, although there were a lot of children affected [by the attack], there wasn’t much support available for children except therapy, which comes a bit later. There was nothing to look after them before this stage. Plus, sitting in a chair and talking to someone you don’t know about your feelings is a lot for a child.”
Described as “not therapy, but something softer”, Bebe’s Hive aims to support children through creative play and craft sessions and music and drama workshops, with trained therapists available should the child wish to share.
TTG Media has named Bebe's Hive as its 2026 fundraising cause – find out more about why here or head to our GoFundMe page.
While Bebe’s Hive has already grown rapidly, Lauren has even bigger plans for its future and reach, noting the list of expressions of interest has already grown to 300 children in Southport alone, with no similar grief support locally.
There are already 14 volunteers involved, including four directors, with professional backgrounds ranging from teaching to therapy and nursing.
“As we grow, we are going to need to source external people – that's where we want the bulk of our spend to go, on actually facilitating further support for these children,” Lauren explains.
She hopes the community interest company will eventually reach a point where members can go into schools and train teachers on grief support. She wants it to be free to access, and to be available for as long as any one child wants it.
And while the Hive’s focus is on children, it “walks beside parents and carers, offering quiet guidance as they support their children”.
With the help of the local council, Bebe’s Hive has now secured premises in Southport town centre, aptly situated opposite the town hall gardens where the community gathered to lay flowers for the three girls who died.
“This project has been something for me to focus on, and the beauty of it all is that the central point is Bebe,” reflects Lauren. “Everything that we do is through the eyes of Beebs, and that for me has been amazing.
“Grief affects people very differently. Ben and I, we made a choice. We're going to live for Beebs. She wouldn't want it any other way.
“It’s not always straightforward – yesterday I was in a ditch. I was on the floor crying my eyes out. And that's why I've got this strong team behind me, because I can't do it on my own.”
Travel as a salve
Lauren started her career in travel as a Thomas Cook agent in Southport when she was 19, and went on to work full-time at Cook's Albion Street branch in Leeds alongside several long-time industry colleagues, including Swords Travel's Mark Swords. “We had an absolute blast,” she recalls fondly.
After a stint as a retail induction trainer and then an agent at Kuoni’s Liverpool branch – a job she tells TTG she loved despite the one-and-a-half hour commute – Lauren went on to work as a teacher, but her passion for travel drew her back to the industry.
She ultimately moved into sales support for Kuoni, and is currently on leave from her role as a trainer for the operator. “I love my travel community – I think we're just really collaborative and I'm very proud of who I work for.”
She jokes: “I was one of those annoying people who absolutely loved their job.”
Lauren takes a moment to thank Kuoni for its support since Bebe died. “They've been so supportive, they've really looked after me and given me the space I need. They are incredible. Mark [Duguid], Donna [Hynes], they’re just fabulous. My team as well, I miss them all so much.”
(Credit: Lauren King)
Lauren says she, Ben and their other daughter have never travelled so much as they have in the past year-and-a-half. “It’s been our escape, our therapy” she shares. “Especially because of all the media attention and publicness of it all.
“We've been to Florida, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and we're going away at Christmas as well. It's been medicine. [Kuoni parent] Der Touristik, again, have been wonderful in looking after us. We did a beautiful villa stay last year, soon after it happened, with all of our family.
“The beauty of being away is that you’re not Lauren King, Bebe's mum, or Ben King, Bebe’s dad. You’re just Mum, you’re just Dad, and you can just live, just be.”
‘Our Girls’
The BBC will air a documentary about the love for – and legacy of – Bebe, Alice and Elsie on 9 December. Lauren and Ben, along with the other girls’ parents, have taken part in the programme, which is named Our Girls: The Southport Families.
I ask Lauren how she feels about it. “There have been a few documentaries that have come out [about the Southport attack], which we've had no control over. Because it’s something of this magnitude, the girls are now lost in it.
“I didn't know Elsie or Alice, but now I feel like I know them, and they were just the most beautiful, gorgeous girls, just like Bebe.
“Don’t get me wrong, it was hard, but we've been able to create something that shows how amazing those girls were. And that’s what we want their legacy to be about – who they were, not what happened to them.”
Bebe’s namesake B. B. King once said about the blues: “There's a sadness to all kinds of music if you want to hear it. There's also happiness to it if you want to hear it”.
It seems to me this is the ethos Lauren and her family are choosing to live by. They can’t do anything to change what happened to their daughter, but through their work with Bebe’s Hive, they can keep on looking for that light in the dark.
