SAmid humble applause and the gaze of hundreds of mourners lining the streets, the white coffin of nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar was carried in a horse-drawn carriage to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Southport.

“Let her dance in heaven,” was the deepest wish of her parents, Sérgio and Alexandra, as they came together to pay their last respects to their “beloved angel” who was killed almost two weeks ago in a stabbing during a Taylor Swift dance class.

Dressed in white and carrying pink and white flowers, the members of the funeral procession marched in the bright summer sunshine behind the white carriage drawn by two white horses with pink plumes.

At the head of the procession, a little girl, hand in hand with two other children, carried a blue teddy bear under her arm.

Mourners walked solemnly behind the coffin, past pink ribbons and balloons tied to lamp posts and garden walls, while 30 uniformed police officers and a large crowd of passers-by clapped and blew bubbles to show their support.

Afterwards, hundreds of people crowded into the church to attend the funeral, entering as the choir began to sing while even more people listened outside to the service broadcast over loudspeakers.

Also present was Serena Kennedy, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, as well as several police officers, paramedics and other members of the emergency services.

Kennedy told the congregation that Alice’s parents had asked her to hold a public appeal for calm after weeks of right-wing extremist unrest.

Thanking the little girl’s family, she said: “You have shown great courage in asking me to come here today… to deliver a message on behalf of Alice’s family: you do not want to see any more violence on the streets of the United Kingdom in the name of your daughter.”

“I am so ashamed and sorry that you even had to consider this when planning the funeral of your beautiful daughter Alice.

“And I hope that everyone involved in the violent unrest on our streets over the past 13 days hangs their head in shame at the pain they have caused you, a grieving family.”

Father John Heneghan opened the funeral service with singing and guitar playing. Alice’s guitar stood next to him to honor the little girl’s love for the musical instrument.

In a speech to their daughter, the parents then referred to their “dear Alice” in her name as a “beloved angel” and “our perfect dream child”.

They said she was “a good girl with strong values ​​and a kind nature. An animal lover and environmentalist in the making. You have moved our world with your confidence and empathy. Playful, full of energy, kind and always so respectful.”

“Being near you was a privilege, we enjoyed every milestone. You completed us.”

It continued: “We are shocked, unimaginable pain. We miss you.”

They spoke in particular about their sadness when “the pin drops”: “When Mama says: ‘Good night, Sergio, good night, Alice’ – and then it hits us again as if by itself. We hear no answer.”

The way forward will be “hard,” they said, and “sometimes we are weak and say wild things.” But they promised each other to always be there for each other in moments of despair, they said. It was a “pink promise,” they said.

“We can always rely on each other. We are not alone. We are surrounded by a wonderful community and enjoy their full support.”

The couple, who come from Madeira in Portugal, stressed that they were grateful to have the “full support” of two countries and to be surrounded by “wonderful soldiers who serve the community”.

They concluded their speech by urging their daughter to “keep dancing,” adding, “Mommy and Daddy will always, always love you.”

Other speakers included Jinnie Payne, headmistress of Churchtown Primary School, who praised her student’s natural smile, good manners and inquisitive nature. “Let your bright smile be your guide and you will remain forever in the hearts of our Churchtown students,” she is reported to have said.

The teacher also read a tribute from Alice’s dance teacher, Heidi Liddle, in which she was described as “an extremely kind-hearted child with thick brown hair who danced as she walked.”

A new photo released by her family shows Alice smiling with a life-size cardboard cutout of Taylor Swift in the doorway of the studio.

The nine-year-old was attending dance classes at Hart Space Studio as a special treat for her mother when she was stabbed to death along with six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe.

In an emotional interview with BBC Radio Merseyside shortly before the ceremony, Father Heneghan said Alice was “a charming little girl full of life”.

She had, he said, “the most beautiful smile you have ever seen, the smile that lights up your heart no matter what problems you have.”

Anyone who saw her smile burst into a smile: “You couldn’t help but smile because it was like a rainbow smile, just full of happiness.”

His lasting memory of her is that of a “wonderfully happy girl who brought so much joy to her mom and dad – and was so loved by her mom and dad” since she “simply beamed with happiness” on the day of her First Communion.

He said that when Alice’s parents paid their last respects at a special Mass 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 flowed from their eyes”.

He added that they had been an inspiration to him: “They are wonderful people – very dignified and close to each other.”

He explained that the couple believe that their daughter is now passing through death into eternal life, in accordance with the tenets of the Catholic faith. “So it’s not the end, but the beginning of a new life forever in heaven. They are very conscious of that. It’s an absolutely essential part of who they are.”

This belief helps them in their grief: “They believe that Alice has risen and is dancing with the angels in heaven. They know that this is not the end… as her father told me, she went to heaven dancing.”

Her mother’s employer, Benridge Care Homes and Good Companions, has set up a crowdfunding page to raise money to support the family “in any way possible”, with nearly £45,000 raised so far.

Suspect Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, 17, was charged with three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder in connection with the stabbings.

The eight other children injured in the attack have all now been released from hospital and are recovering at home.