Prince William and Kate pay their respects at Aberfan memorial garden 57 years on from Queen's visit
28 April 2023, 12:52 | Updated: 28 April 2023, 13:05
William and Kate followed in the late Queen's footsteps on Friday as they visited the Aberfan Memorial Garden to pay their respects to those who died in the disaster.
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William and Kate were led through the Aberfan Memorial Garden to pay their respects to those who died when a colliery spoil tip collapsed and sent tonnes of ash slurry onto the village below.
The garden was located on the site where the Pantglas school which was destroyed in the landslide on October 21 1966.
The incident led to 144 people being killed - 116 of which being children.
Queen Elizabeth II visited eight days after the tragedy and shortly after a mass funeral had taken place.
Her decision not to visit sooner was said to have been one of the greatest regrets of her reign.
Despite this, mourners gathered to meet her and the bond she made with those she spoke to during that visit on October 29 endured throughout the rest of her life.
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During their visit, the Prince and Princess of Wales were guided around the garden by Aberfan survivor David Davies, a former pupil at Pantglas Primary School, and Professor Peter Vaughan, Lord Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan.
They met trustees from the Aberfan Memorial Trust who are involved in ensuring the maintenance of the garden, alongside some of the Aberfan Wives group who lost relatives in the disaster.
It is the first time the royal couple has been to the village near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.
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In 1974, the Queen opened the garden to commemorate the victims and provide a place for bereaved families, survivors and the community to pay their respects.
She visited again in 1997, with her final trip to Aberfan in 2012 when she opened a new school called Ynysowen Community Primary.
On the 50th anniversary of the disaster, her son Charles - then the Prince of Wales - visited the village and delivered a message from the Queen.
In it she said: "I well remember my own visit with Prince Philip after the disaster and the posy I was given by a young girl which bore the heart-breaking inscription 'from the remaining children of Aberfan'.
"Since then we have returned on several occasions and have always been deeply impressed by the remarkable fortitude, dignity and indomitable spirit that characterises the people of this village and the surrounding valleys."
