Kate Middleton has made a last-minute decision to join Prince William at a ceremony honoring Holocaust Memorial Day for her first formal appearance since declaring that she is in remission from cancer.
The palace revealed on January 27 that the Princess of Wales, who is 43 years old, will be attending the emotional ceremony in London on Monday. Prince William, who is 42 years old, was originally slated to attend the event in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. However, Princess Kate’s attendance is a big and unexpected surprise.
Holocaust Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for the six million Jewish people who were murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the millions of others who were slain under Nazi persecution and following genocides. This year’s anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the greatest Nazi death camp, is significant since it is the anniversary of the momentous day. The date of January 27 is chosen to coincide with this milestone.
Since Princess Kate revealed on January 14 that she is in “remission” from cancer, this will be her first royal function.
On the same day that she made a surprise visit to The Royal Marsden Hospital in London, the Princess of Wales announced the news in a personal message on social media. The visit coincided with the announcement that she had previously had treatment at the hospital and that she and Prince William would be taking on the role of patrons.
Prince William and Princess Kate previously attended the U.K. Holocaust Memorial Day Commemorative Ceremony in London in January 2020 for the 75th anniversary of the Auschwitz-Birkenau liberation.
Prince William read a letter that was received by a friend of his late great-grandmother, Princess Alice, who is known for her efforts to rescue a Jewish family during the Holocaust. William and Kate also took part in a candle ceremony on stage with Holocaust survivors. One of the survivors who sat for a photo shot by Kate was Yvonne Bernstein.
The Princess of Wales enjoys photography as a pastime, and on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day in 2020, the palace revealed images that she had taken of two Holocaust survivors with their grandkids. The pictures were part of a wider exhibition produced by the Holocaust Memorial Trust, Jewish News, and the Royal Photographic Society (of which Princess Kate is the patron). The exhibition brought together 75 compelling photos of survivors and their family members to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust.
The Holocaust was a terrible tragedy that was inflicted by the most unimaginable wickedness. It will always weigh heavily on our hearts. “However, it is frequently through the most unimaginable adversity that the most remarkable people flourish,” Princess Kate said in a statement at the time. “Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank are two of the most life-affirming people I have ever met, even though they both went through unbelievable trauma at the beginning of their lives.”
“They remember their experiences with sadness, but they are also thankful that they were among the fortunate ones who survived.” I shall always remember their tales. Princess Kate continued her statement by saying, “Although I have been fortunate enough to meet two of the very few survivors who are still alive today, I understand that not everyone in the future will have the opportunity to hear these stories directly.” “It is essential to keep their memories alive and share them with future generations so that their experiences will not be forgotten.”
In 2021, Kate went to the Lake District, which is famous in the United Kingdom. After World War II, it was a place of shelter for survivors of the Holocaust. While she was there, she went on a boat excursion with two of the Windermere Children. This group consisted of 300 Holocaust survivors who were transported to the Lake District in 1945 to assist them recover from the horrors of the Holocaust, including the concentration camps.
Ike Alterman, a survivor from Poland who was imprisoned at Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Theresienstadt, remarked that the former Duchess of Cambridge “was absolutely delightful.” Alterman told PEOPLE, “We laughed, she asked questions, and she wanted to know the answers.”
