King Charles, Camilla and William Mark 60 Years Since Aberfan — the Disaster That Haunted the Queen

King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William visited the South Wales village of Aberfan on Wednesday, October 21, to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the disaster that killed 144 people, 116 of them children, when a colliery spoil tip collapsed on the village school. The joint appearance of the King, the Queen and the Prince of Wales was a rare outing together for the three senior royals, Reuters reported, and it came sixty years to the day after the disaster of October 21, 1966.

The disaster began after days of heavy rain, when a tip of waste from Merthyr Vale Colliery slid downhill into the village. About 150,000 tons of mud and slurry engulfed Pantglas Junior School, twenty houses and a farm, People reported. It was the last day of school before the half-term break. Of those killed, 116 were children, most of them aged between seven and ten, and nearly half of the school’s students died, according to People. Rescuers dug with shovels and their bare hands to try to free children, teachers and residents trapped under the rubble, USA Today reported.

At the Aberfan Memorial Garden, which stands on the site of Pantglas School, the three royals attended a short service of prayers and reflections, People reported. The King stepped forward first to place his wreath and stood for a moment before stepping back; the Queen followed, laying a bouquet of flowers; and the Prince of Wales then laid a wreath of his own. William’s wreath carried a personal message, “In our memory and in our hearts forever,” and its card was signed by both William and Catherine, The Court Jeweller reported. The garden itself was opened by the late Queen Elizabeth in 1974, during one of several visits she made to the village after the tragedy, People reported, and the King and Queen were accompanied in the garden by Mair Morgan, the last surviving teacher from Pantglas Junior School, The Court Jeweller reported.

After the service, which lasted about ten minutes, the royals greeted well-wishers waiting on the road outside and walked the short distance to the Aberfan & Merthyr Vale Community Centre, People reported. There they met survivors and bereaved parents, former pupils of the school and the siblings of children who died. Members of the Aberfan Wives, the support group established to help mothers who lost children in the disaster, were also there to tell the royals about their work, People reported.

The three were also introduced to retired emergency responders, including a 96-year-old former policewoman who had worked in the first hours and days after the tip collapsed, and to representatives of the police, the fire service, the voluntary St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross, People reported.

The Prince of Wales also visited Ynysowen Community Primary School, the school built to carry on the legacy of Pantglas, and helped to unveil a memorial tree sculpture designed by the Powys firm ArtMetal, The Court Jeweller reported, quoting BBC coverage. William had arrived in the village ahead of his father and stepmother, People reported.

The anniversary carries a particular weight for the royal family because of Queen Elizabeth II’s own history with Aberfan. In 1966 the Queen was advised not to visit at once, on the thinking that she and her entourage would cause too much of a commotion for a town in mourning amid its ongoing rescue efforts, and she instead sent Prince Philip and Lord Snowdon to represent her, the BBC reported via Parade. She visited eight days later and was visibly moved as she met the parents of children who had died, Reuters reported. Her former private secretary, Lord Charteris, later called the delay the biggest regret of her reign, according to the BBC reporting carried by Parade.

Elizabeth returned to Aberfan four times after 1966, including opening Ynysowen school in 2012. On the fiftieth anniversary, in 2016, she recalled her first visit: “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 heartbreaking inscription ‘from the remaining children of Aberfan,’” Reuters reported.

At the community centre, Jeff Edwards, who was eight years old when the tip fell and survived, was due to speak, Reuters reported. Edwards and the late Queen came to know each other well over the years that followed; she referred to him as “the little boy with the blond hair.” The King was also due to make a speech at the centre, Reuters reported in its preview of the day. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his thoughts were with the people of the village as it marked the anniversary, Reuters reported.

Despite their joint outing, William travelled to Wales separately from the King and Queen, People reported. He arrived first and remained to meet more local people after his father and stepmother had departed. The separate travel followed a royal protocol rule under which direct heirs to the throne are discouraged from travelling together once children reach a certain age, a precaution designed to protect the line of succession in the event of an accident, People reported.

The royal family said in an Instagram post that the visit honoured “the enduring strength” of the people of Aberfan, USA Today reported.

Sources: Reuters; People; USA Today; Parade; The Court Jeweller; BBC reporting.