Kiyan Prince

Kiyan Josiah Prince ( "KYE-ann"; 25 November 1990 – 18 May 2006) was an English footballer who played for the Queens Park Rangers youth academy. Described as "a prodigious footballing talent" and "an outstanding and upstanding boy", Prince was fatally stabbed outside his school (London Academy in Edgware, London) on 18 May 2006, while trying to stop the bullying of another boy.

Murder On 18 May 2006, Prince was involved in an altercation with 16-year-old fellow London Academy pupil Hannad Hasan outside the school gates. Hasan managed to get Prince in a headlock before stabbing him once in the heart with a penknife. A Metropolitan Police Sergeant from the local Edgware Safer Neighbourhood team found Prince; he was transferred by air to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel where he was pronounced dead two hours later. Hasan claimed he carried the penknife "like a toy". It was not revealed to the jury that a few days prior to Prince's stabbing, Hasan had used the knife to threaten a schoolgirl on a bus during an argument.

The then-Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, in response to the killing, said that he would encourage the Home Secretary and the Lord Chancellor to impose maximum imprisonment sentences for those who carry knives. In addition to this, the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 was enacted that increased the age at which a person can purchase a knife from 16 to 18.

Aspiring footballer

Prince, who signed for Queens Park Rangers's youth team in 2004 has been described as a prodigious talent; he was due to collect a players' award shortly after his death. On 25 November 2020, the date that would have marked his 30th birthday, the club encouraged all supporters to wear something blue and something white in memory of Prince.

On 18 May 2021, on the 15th anniversary of his death, EA Sports added him to FIFA 21 as a tribute. QPR also stated he would also be included in their squad list for the 2021–2022 season.

Foundation Spurred by this personal tragedy, Prince's father, former boxer (and ex-International IBF and WBO Champion) Mark Prince, founded the Kiyan Prince Foundation (KPF) in early 2007. The not-for-profit organization is committed to using Kiyan's legacy to combat knife crime and other forms of youth violence. Its mission is to: "work with young people to increase awareness and address the consequences of gun and knife crime through education. It aims to empower young people by promoting a sense of belonging, self-worth and purpose that can be found outside of gang culture and offending behaviour through providing access to diversionary and preventative activities".

Mark Prince was made an OBE in the 2019 New Year Honours for "services to tackling knife and gang crime in London".