Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales light candles during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England.Photo:Dan Kitwood/Getty
Dan Kitwood/Getty
Kate Middletonmade a last-minute decision to joinPrince Williamat a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day for her first official appearance since announcing that she isin remissionfrom cancer.
On Jan. 27, the palace confirmed that the Princess of Wales, 43, would attend the poignant service in London on Monday. While Prince William, 42, had already been scheduled to attend in honor of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, Princess Kate’s inclusion marks a significant and unexpected addition.
At the event, Princess Kate remarked, “It’s good to be able to be here,” Matt Wilkinson, royal editor atThe Sun,wrote on X. She appeared to be wearingQueen Elizabeth’s Bahrain Pearl Drop earrings for the somber occasion, which she also wore for Remembrance Sunday on Nov. 10 of last year.
Catherine, Princess of Wales lights a candle during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England.Dan Kitwood/Getty
Holocaust Memorial Day honors the lives of the six million Jewish people who were murdered during the Holocaust, the millions killed under Nazi persecution and during subsequent genocides. The Jan. 27 date is timed to the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, and this year marks a landmark anniversary of the historic day.
Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales light candles during a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England.Dan Kitwood/Getty
It marks the first royal event for Princess Kate since she announced on Jan. 14 that she is in “remission” from cancer.
The Princess of Wales shared the news in a personal post on social media after asurprise visitto The Royal Marsden Hospital in London the same day, which coincided with the news that she previously had treatment there and was taking on patronage of the hospital with Prince William.
Prince William and Princess Katepreviously attendedthe U.K. Holocaust Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony in London in January 2020 for the 75th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation.
Catherine, Princess of Wales and Prince William, Prince of Wales attend a ceremony commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day on Jan. 27, 2025 in London, England.Dan Kitwood/Getty
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“They look back on their experiences with sadness but also with gratitude that they were some of the lucky few to make it through. Their stories will stay with me forever. Whilst I have been lucky enough to meet two of the now very few survivors, I recognize not everyone in the future will be able to hear these stories first hand,” the statement from Princess Kate continued. “It is vital that their memories are preserved and passed on to future generations, so that what they went through will never be forgotten.”
In 2021, Kate visited the U.K.’s famed Lake District, which provided refuge for Holocaust survivors in the aftermath of World War II. While there, she took part in a boat trip with two of the Windermere Children, a group of 300 Holocaust survivors who were brought to the Lake District in 1945 to help recuperate following the atrocities of the Holocaust, including in concentration camps.
Ike Alterman, a survivor from Poland who was a prisoner at Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Theresienstadt, said the former Duchess of Cambridge“was absolutely delightful”: “We laughed, she asked questions and she wanted to know the answers,” Alterman told PEOPLE.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend the UK Holocaust Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony in Westminster on Jan. 27, 2020 in London, England.Samir Hussein/WireImage
“I didn’t know what to expect, but we spoke like a couple of friends,” he added. “She was so down-to-earth.”
David Shannon, whose uncle and aunt were Holocaust survivors, told PEOPLE at the time, “I really felt that she was listening and engaged and genuinely interested in our stories. This wasn’t a ‘By the way, I’m meeting these people today,’ but her genuinely showing she cares.”
“She is using her position of influence to engage with survivors and their families,” Shannon continued.
King Charlesis currently in Poland for the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation, becoming the first British monarch to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
source: people.com
