Princess Anne visits British school amid suicide issue

MANILA, Philippines - British royalty Princess Anne has visited the British School Manila (BSM) in Taguig City, which is currently embroiled in an issue following the supposed suicide of one of its students last month.

BSM posted a photo of the British royalty on its Twitter account, with an accompanying text saying that “BSM community were thrilled to welcome HRH Princess Royal.”

Trixie Madamba, mother of the late BSM student Liam Madamba, confirmed to The STAR that Princess Anne visited the school on March 19 before she left the country.

But she said that she received no feedback regarding her letter to the Princess about her son.

BSM likewise remained mum on the issue.

Earlier, Trixie wrote a letter to Princess Anne informing her of the case of her son, who jumped off a car park building in Makati City on Feb. 6.

The student allegedly committed suicide after his teacher reportedly accused him of plagiarism.

“Your Royal Highness, I have lost a kind, gentle, beautiful boy so full of promise. I have many questions that are still unanswered, pieces I would like to put together to bring some semblance of peace and closure,” the letter read.

“My husband and I chose The British School Manila in the hopes that the adults our son spends a greater part of his day with will continue with the same nurturing we do at home,” it added.

Trixie related to the Princess the supposed encounter of Liam with a BSM teacher, which left him “with feelings of hopelessness and humiliation.”

“Because he brought home with him a disgraceful impression of himself that had such finality, that he considered all that he had worked hard and hoped for now dashed to pieces, he jumped from a six-story car park building and died a few hours later,” she added.

A few days after Liam’s death, BSM said it remembers “him as a promising young man who was a great student, friend and classmate.”

“We share in the grief of the Madamba family and respect their privacy and we aim to support them and our whole community through this challenging and difficult time,” the school’s statement read.