It is the first time Prince William and Kate Middleton have visited Aberfan (Picture: Twitter/Getty)
The Prince and Princess of Wales have paid their respects to those who died in a 1966 disaster in Wales.
William and Kate attended the Aberfan Memorial Garden on Friday to remember the 144 people – including 116 children – who were killed when a colliery spoil tip collapsed above the village near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales.
The memorial is located at the site of former Pantglas Primary School, which was engulfed by a landslide of several tonnes of ash slurry on October 21, 1966, not long after morning lessons had started.
Accompanying the royal couple around the garden was David Davies, a former pupil who survived the disaster, and Professor Peter Vaughan, lord lieutenant of Mid Glamorgan.
William’s grandmother Queen Elizabeth II visited eight days after the tragedy took place, and is understood to have held not visiting sooner as one of her greatest regrets.
In 1974, the former monarch opened the garden to commemorate the victims and create a space for the community to pay their respects.
On the 50th anniversary of the disaster in 2016, King Charles, then Prince of Wales, visited Aberfan to deliver a message from the Queen.
The royal couple were guided around the garden by a survivor of the disaster (Picture: Twitter)
The Pantglas Primary School was engulfed in several tonnes of ash not long after morning lessons started on October 21, 1966 (Picture: Getty)
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.’
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The disaster was triggered by the collapse of one of seven spoil tips, standing at more than 111ft high, due to it being built on ground with water springs underneath, in violation of National Coal Board rules.
Leaders of the coal corporation were later blamed for the disaster, after ignoring repeated warnings over the dangers posed by the tips.
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The royal couple paid their respects to those who died in the 1966 disaster.
