The Princess of Wales didn't join her husband, the Prince of Wales, as he headed to Wales with King Charles and Queen Camilla to mark the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster on Wednesday.
However, Catherine still showed her support, with her signature spotted on a wreath that was laid by William at the Aberfan Memorial Garden. The message on the couple's wreath read: "In our memory and in our hearts forever," which was also repeated in Welsh.
At the ceremony, William, Charles and Camilla joined politicians, survivors and bereaved families in remembering the 116 children and 28 adults who were killed in the mining disaster at the small Welsh village on 21 October 1966.
An entire generation was almost wiped out when 150,000 tonnes of coal waste slid down the hillside before engulfing Pantglas Junior School, following days of heavy rain. Around half the children from the school died in the tragedy.
© Getty ImagesThe ceremony marks a poignant date in the royal family's calendar, and the disaster waso ne of the few times that the late Queen showed emotion in public. Her Late Majesty and Prince Philip travelled to the village eight days after the disaster.
It was later reported that waiting eight days to visit was one of her biggest regrets, and she appeared visibly moved as she walked around the site of the tragedy with her husband.
"I think she felt in hindsight that she might have gone there a little earlier. It was a sort of lesson for us that you need to show sympathy and to be there on the spot, which I think people craved from her," said Sir William Heseltine, who worked in the royal press office at the time of the tragedy.
Catherine's previous trip to Aberfan
Although Catherine didn't join her husband on this occasion, the Princess of Wales has previously visited the sombre site.
In 2023, she and William 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 sits on the site of the former Pantglas Junior School, which was engulfed by the landslide at 9:13am on 21 October 1966, just as lessons had begun.
They were guided around the memorial garden by Aberfan survivor David Davies, a former pupil at Pantglas, and Professor Peter Vaughan, Lord Lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan.
The couple also met trustees from the Aberfan Memorial Trust who are involved in maintaining the garden, alongside some of the Aberfan Wives group who lost relatives in the disaster.
© Getty ImagesIn the crowd was disaster survivor Gareth Jones, who crawled out of a window of the school as his classmates were buried alive by the landslide.
Gareth chatted with Catherine outside the memorial gardens and said: "I told her I was a survivor – I think she was quite surprised. 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."
