The Princess of Wales has joined Prince William for a poignant ceremony in London to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and the pair paid their respects on what is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
The Princess of Wales had an emotional reunion with two Holocaust survivors at a poignant ceremony in London to mark 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz.
Kate hugged Yvonne Bernstein and Stephen Frank at a reception for around 50 survivors of the Nazi campaign and survivors of subsequent genocides, telling them it was a treat to see them again after taking pictures of them for a Holocaust photography project in 2020.
As she sat catching up with Yvonne, the two women held hands, with Yvonne stroking the Princess’s arm and thanking her for coming. “It was such a treat for me to come and see an old friend,” said Kate, who wore a black coat over black wide-leg trousers and a black sweater with a five-string pearl necklace.
She had greeted the 87-year-old by saying: “It’s so nice to see you,” and hearing that Yvonne had suffered some health problems, she added: “You’ve had such a hard time, haven’t you?” Kate also shared a warm hug with Stephen, 89, who thanked her for sending him a Christmas card and the two chatted about his family.
William sat with Polish born Alfred Garwood, who survived Bergen-Belsen as a child and Bosnian genocide survivor Sabina Kadic-Mackenzie, who now lives in Liverpool. Both the Prince and Princess discussed their desire to teach their children about the Holocaust, with William saying: “George is getting to the age where he’s starting to understand things. So it’s getting interesting to talk to him about what happened.””
Apologising that they couldn’t spend longer talking, he said: “There is a lot of history at this table, we need to hear it all.”
Kate asked Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines: “Do you write a diary? It’s so important that these stories are written down. They are still relevant stories.”