Prince and Princess of Wales are solemn as they visit Aberfan Memorial Garden 

The Prince and Princess of Wales followed in the late Queen’s footsteps today as they visited the Aberfan Memorial Garden to pay their respects to those who lost their lives in the disaster.  

Kate Middleton, 41, and Prince William, 40, were somber as they arrived at the garden, which is located on the site where the Pantglas school which was tragically destroyed in a coal-tip landslide on 21st October 1966. The incident led to the loss of 144 lives, including 116 children. 

The couple were greeted by schoolchildren at the site, while survivor Gaynor Madgwick showed Kate a number of newspaper cuttings about previous royal visits to the area. 

The Prince and Princess were then guided around the garden by one of the Aberfan survivors, David Davies, and Professor Peter Vaughan, Lord Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan.

The royals went on to share a photograph as they laid a floral tribute at the site, tweeting a message in English and Welsh reading: ‘In Aberfan to pay our respects to the 116 children and 28 adults who lost their lives on 21 October 1966.’

The couple met with schoolchildren as they arrived at the garden, which is located on the site where the Pantglas school which was tragically destroyed in a coal-tip landslide on 21st October 1966

Her Majesty visited the village Aberfan (pictured) on October 29 1966 – eight days after the horrific disaster in 1966

King Charles also paid a visit to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, at the Aberfan and Merthyr Vale community centre on October 21, 2016

Survivor Gaynor Madgwick showed Kate a number of newspaper cuttings about previous royal visits to the area (pictured) 

The Princess appeared to have dressed for the occasion, opting for a dark long line coat and repeating a houndstooth dress from Zara

A second photograph showed the floral tribute and the message left by the couple, which read: ‘In loving memory.’  

The Prince and Princess also met trustees from the Aberfan Memorial Trust who are involved in ensuring the maintenance of the garden, as well as some of the ‘Aberfan Wives’, relatives of the children who lost their lives during the disaster. 

The Princess appeared to have dressed for the occasion, opting for a dark long line coat and repeating a houndstooth dress from Zara.

The royal has worn the £89.99 long-sleeved dress from the high street retailer, that was reduced to £15.99 in the sale, on a number of occasions over the years.

The Duchess wore her long brunette locks down for the occasion, sweeping them behind her ear.

Meanwhile she kept her makeup muted for the outing, pairing a sweep of eyeliner with a nude lipstick.

Among the survivors the couple met was David, who was aged eight and a pupil at the school when it was engulfed by coal waste tip.

He went on to move away and become a solicitor but has since returned to the community.

Meanwhile when greeting crowds of royal fans, Kate spoke with survivor Gaynor for some time. 

Gaynor, who lost her younger brother Carl and older sister Marylyn in the tragedy, was among those rescued from the rubble of Pantglas Junior School.

She previously told BBC Sounds podcast Aberfan: Tip Number 7 how she held the hand of a dead classmate, willing it to move.

Speaking in 2021, she described the first moment the children realised something was wrong.

After their visit to Aberfan, the couple shared a tweet with a number of photographs from the engagement 

A photograph shared by the couple on their official social media showed a floral tribute they had left at the site, which read: ‘In loving memory’ 

The Prince and Princess were shown around the garden by survivor David, who was eight when the disaster happened 

The royal couple were solemn as they  walked through the garden side-by-side earlier this morning 

The Prince and Princess of Wales met with child survivor David Davies, during the visit to the Aberfan memorial garden

The Princess appeared to have dressed for the occasion, opting for a dark long line coat and repeating a houndstooth dress from Zara

The Prince and Princess were guided around the garden by one of the Aberfan survivors and Professor Peter Vaughan, Lord Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan

Meanwhile Kate paid a subtle tribute to the late Queen as she donned a replica of the late monarch’s brooch for the visit 

Survivor Gaynor chatted with Kate and showed her a number of clippings about previous royal visits 

Survivor Gaynor caught Kate’s attention and told her how she’d lost both her brother and sister in the tragedy 

The Prince waved to schoolchildren who had gathered to greet them, while Kate’s arms were quickly filled with floral posies 

The couple were greeted by crowds of royal fans at the memorial garden, which is on the site of Pantglas school which was tragically destroyed in a coal-tip landslide on 21st October 1966

Kate’s subtle nod to the late Queen during visit to Aberfan 

Kate Middleton paid a subtle tribute to the Queen as she visited Aberfan today.

The Princess of Wales pinned a glittering copy of the Welsh Guards Leek Brooch on her lapel for the outing. 

The original Welsh Guards Leek Brooch was designed for Queen Elizabeth II in 1960 using the drawings of the Welsh Guardsmen, but both Camilla and Princess Diana have worn replicas of the brooch. 

The Princess of Wales, 41, pinned a glittering copy of the Welsh Guards Leek Brooch on her lapel for the outing today 

The original Welsh Guards Leek Brooch which was designed for Queen Elizabeth II in 1960 using the drawings of the Welsh Guardsmen (pictured, the Queen wearing the brooch in 2020) 

Princess Diana, who held the title of Princess of Wales, also wore a replica of the brooch while watching a parade of the First Battalion of Welsh Guards in London in 1990 (left). Meanwhile  Camilla wore her replica of the brooch during her first visit to Wales after the Queen’s death in September (right) 

The Queen’s  brooch was presented to the late monarch as a regimental gift, and was funded by the guardsmen themselves who each paid 12 and a half pence.

In the decades that followed the Queen made sure to wear the brooch at most events involving the Welsh Guards.

Most recently, she sported the heirloom at the New Colours to the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards at Windsor Castle in 2015, and also at a scaled-down Trooping the Colour in 2020 in the height of the coronavirus pandemic.  

Princess Diana, who held the title of Princess of Wales, also wore a replica of the brooch while watching a parade of the First Battalion of Welsh Guards in London in 1990, when Britain’s Queen Elizabeth presented the regiment with New Colours. 

Meanwhile Camilla wore her replica of the brooch during her first visit to Wales after the Queen’s death in September. 

Each of the brooches is slightly different in design – with different twists in the leek’s leaves, as well as differences in the colour of the roots of each brooch.

‘Within seconds, this noise appeared from nowhere. Thunder. It was the most horrific noise, thunder,’ she said. ‘Like explosions. Rumbling. But it got louder, and louder and louder. And it literally froze people in their seats.

‘I just remember turning my head and seeing this black mass and then I tried to get up to run for the door. Then it was black out, it was complete black out.

‘I never remember the slurry hitting me. I never remember the pain or discomfort. The only pain was when I woke up and I was literally catapulted to the back of the classroom, more or less into the corner of the classroom.’

Gaynor woke up on the other side of the room, on top of her classmate, Gerald.

Gaynor continued: ‘I just remember just looking around, desks, chairs, mud, slurry, which was high up in the classroom.

‘I just lay there, I just lay there, I wasn’t screaming, I was in shock. I couldn’t see my legs because this huge radiator had come off the wall and landed on my lap. Looking back now I think it saved me from suffocating.’

Gaynor, who had blood trickling down her head, recalled reaching out to touch a hand of a child lying nearby. The child had been in the next door classroom, the same as her brother, Carl, but had been partially forced through the wall by the pressure.

The Prince and Princess of Wales speak to ‘Aberfan Wives’ during a visit to the Aberfan memorial garden

‘For some reason, I was just holding on pinching this hand because I wanted this hand to move,’ she said.

‘When I look back now, and when I heard, that my brother had died, I always hold onto the hope that it could have been my brother’s arm. It gives me comfort.’

Opened in 1974 by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the garden commemorates the victims of the disaster, whilst also providing a place for bereaved parents, siblings, next of kin, survivors, and the whole community to pay their respects. 

It comes after a former mountain rescuer told Prince William the late Queen Elizabeth II ‘did the right thing’ by waiting over a week before visiting Aberfan following the 1966 disaster.

Bob Thomas, who had helped with the disaster 57 years ago, assured Prince William that his grandmother – who was heavily criticised for the delay – would have been ‘a distraction’. 

The couple met Aberfan rescuers on their visit to Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales, yesterday, to meet with the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.

Olivia Colman, pictured left, as Queen Elizabeth II while visiting the Aberfan tragedy. The monarch, pictured right in 1966, seeing the devastating scenes in the Welsh village. The Crown claimed the Queen faked brushing a tear away, but in reality the monarch actually cried

The Prince and Princess were introduced to Bob and Nick Richards, both of whom provided aid when a devastating avalanche of slurry in a Welsh village killed 144 people, including 116 children.

‘It must have been terrifying,’ William said. ‘It’s a real pleasure to meet you both. My grandmother told me many times about Aberfan.’

Mr Thomas replied: ‘Your family did the right thing in not coming immediately, because it would have been a distraction.’ 

The tragedy in 1966 was one of the UK’s worst disasters, and left 116 children and 28 adults dead. 

It was caused by a spoil-heap landslide following heavy rain, which engulfed Pantglas Primary School and surrounding houses on the morning of October 21.

The Duke of Edinburgh, Lord Snowdon and the then prime minister Harold Wilson visited the scene the following day. The Queen waited eight days before going to the village near Merthyr Tydfil.

She visited the mining village several times and formed a strong bond with the community.

Mr Thomas and Mr Richards had helped in the aftermath of Aberfan and spent some time talking to William and Kate about the disaster.

Mr Thomas, who was then a 19-year-old bank clerk, showed William photos and explained how hard it was to clear the debris.

‘We were trying to shift what seemed like dry concrete,’ Mr Thomas said. ‘It was really heavy and it must have come down like a train, because it has taken out a row of houses and the school.

‘There was a spring that tipped over, that no-one knew was there. We’d had four weeks of rain and it all just washed out. We were given a shovel and a pick to get the stuff away, but we just couldn’t move it.’

Mr Thomas said many of the rescuers were miners and had the knowledge and skills needed to clear the debris.

‘We ended up at about 2.30am and the miners had corrugated metal which they put into a trough, and they were using shovels to fill tipper lorries every 15 minutes with the slurry,’ he told William and Kate.

‘The miners did 16 hours straight on there. I managed four and I was 19 and fit. The last one out was about at 10.45am, and after that it was recovery – it wasn’t a rescue any more.

‘Fortunately we still had the pits then, so if we didn’t have a gang of men who knew what they were doing it would have been worse. There were some horrible stories.

‘My wife was a teacher and she told me about this chap who went to work at 8.30am, and by 9.30am he’d lost his wife, his two children, his house and all he had left was his sports jacket, trousers and Ford Anglia. That was it. It’s just unimaginable.’

Speaking after meeting William and Kate, Mr Thomas said: ‘It was very, very nice they have taken time.’ Mr Richards added: ‘I am really elated. I can’t wait to tell the family because it was a secret.’ 

Her Majesty visited Aberfan on October 29 1966 – eight days after the horrific disaster.

The Queen’s decision to not visit Aberfan immediately is said to be one of her biggest regrets. Pictured: The Queen walking around the Welsh mining village, with Prince Philip behind her

The mud and devastation caused when mining spoil from the hillside high above Aberfan came down and engulfed The Pantglas Junior School on 21st October 1966

Queen Elizabeth II pictured visiting the neighbourhood in 1966 with her husband Prince Philip

She was criticised by some for not immediately heading to the national disaster and Netflix drama The Crown showed the monarch, played by Olivia Colman, apparently faking tears when meeting residents.

But British royal author Penny Junor suggested the Queen was far from apathetic towards the tragedy and ‘showed her humanity’ to the locals in a quiet manner.

Penny made the remarks on ITV’s Inside the Crown: Secrets of the Royals, in 2020. 

She said: ‘When she actually arrived she spoke with families and there was one woman who’d lost seven members of her family. The Queen just sat with her, quietly, saying nothing, for half an hour. That was the Queen showing her humanity.’

It is unclear who the resident was that the Queen visited for half an hour. 

In one episode of The Crown, it is claimed the monarch was forced to visit the disaster after a public backlash and showed little emotion towards the situation.

During the outing, Olivia’s portrayal of the Queen dabs her eye as if wiping a tear away, after talking to the bereaved. She later says: ‘I dabbed a bone-dry eye and by some miracle no one noticed.’ 

But Her Majesty’s decision to not visit Aberfan immediately is said to be one of her biggest regrets and most royal experts say the decision was made out of practically.

Prince William and Kate’s visit comes as the pair took on their new titles of Prince and Princess of Wales last September. 

Since then, they have made several visits to the region to learn about the issues that matter most to the Welsh people.