Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton stepped out for Holocaust Memorial Day in the U.K. and had an emotional reunion.
Kate, 43, hugged Holocaust survivors Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank while at the Guildhall in London on Monday, January 27. She and William, 43, attended the event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
“It’s so nice to see you,” Kate could be heard saying to Bernstein, 87, while greeting her with a warm embrace, according to video footage obtained by Hello! Magazine. She also sat down next to Frank, 89, and held on to him as they shared hellos. (Kate previously photographed both Bernstein and Frank Kensington Palace in January 2020.)
The couple snapped photos with the survivors, some of whom told their stories at the event, before William stood up to speak.
“I am honored to join you today to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and to remember the millions murdered during the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides,” the Prince of Wales said. “We also remember those survivors who have lived with scars, both mental and physical. Their bravery, in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of their lives, are extremely powerful and ensure that we never forget. I assure them we never will.”
William read an excerpt from the book Holocaust Heroes before concluding his speech.
“It has been a great honor for Catherine and I to join you all today,” he said.
Kate didn’t share any personal updates, rather focusing on the survivors and their stories. (The Princess of Wales announced earlier this month that she was officially in remission following her cancer battle last year.)
While William and Kate stayed in London for the remembrance day, King Charles III traveled to Poland to meet with Holocaust survivors. He spoke at a Jewish community center in Krakow before visiting Auschwitz, making him the first-ever British head of state to do so.
Photos showed Charles, 76, wiping a tear away from his eye while hearing from those who survived the horrors at Auschwitz during World War II.
“To be in Poland on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as we commemorate eighty years since the liberation of Auschwitz, is both a somber and indeed a sacred moment,” Charles said during his speech on Monday. “It is a moment when we recall the depths to which humanity can sink when evil is allowed to flourish, ignored for too long by the world.”
