On their final day in Wales, the Prince and Princess of Wales paid a visit to the solemn memorial at Aberfan.
The royal couple arrived at the Aberfan Memorial Garden with a wreath bearing their names and the message “In lasting memory” written in both English and Welsh.
The Memorial Garden is located at the site of Pantglas Junior School, where a majority of people lost their lives. Queen Elizabeth II opened the garden in 1974.
The royal couple received a tour from one of the survivors, met other survivors, and also met with members of a group called the ‘Aberfan Wives’, who are relatives of the children who perished that day.
One survivor, Gareth Jones, met Catherine in the crowd and told her his story—how he climbed out a window at the school just before disaster struck—“She said she has three little children herself and can’t imagine what we went through. She said she felt for all the bereaved parents,” Jones recounted to The Mirror. He said that William asked how the town dealt with the aftermath, and he replied, “We just had to get on with it.”
On social media, William and Catherine wrote: “In Aberfan to pay our respects to the 116 children and 28 adults who lost their lives on 21 October 1966.
“Yma yn Aberfan i dalu teyrnged i’r 116 o blant a 28 oedolyn a gollodd eu bywydau ar Hydref 21 1966.”
The Aberfan disaster occurred on 21 October 1966, devastating the small coal-mining village when a nearby colliery spill top collapsed and created a downslide on a mountain slope. In total, 116 children and 28 adults were killed after the downslide engulfed row houses and the Pantglas Junior School.
The Royal Family maintained a lasting relationship with the people of Aberfan. Despite waiting five days to visit the site in 1966, Queen Elizabeth developed a close relationship with the town; King Charles and Queen Camilla also visited many times over the years.
