Charles, Camilla and William will join the Aberfan community to pay tribute to the victims who died when a coal tip collapsed onto the village
The King, Queen and Prince of Wales will visit the Welsh village of Aberfan to mark the 60th anniversary of the disaster in which 144 people died, including 116 children.
Charles, Camilla and William are scheduled to visit the Aberfan Memorial Garden and the Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre on 21 October, before William visits a primary school to unveil the Aberfan Memorial Tree.
The trio will join survivors, bereaved parents and members of the community to pay tribute to the victims who lost their lives when a coal tip collapsed onto the village on 21 October 1966.
The Aberfan Memorial Garden, where they will begin their visit to South Wales, stands on the site of the former Pantglas Primary School, where 109 children and five teachers died when the collapse occurred just as lessons had begun.
A short prayer and a moment of silence will be held, during which the King and prince will lay wreaths, and the Queen will place a posy in memory of those who died.
They will then take a short walk from the memorial garden to the Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre, meeting local residents along the route.
At the Aberfan Community Centre, they will meet retired members of the emergency services who assisted in the hours and days after the coal tip collapsed, including a 96-year-old woman who served as a police officer at the time.
They will view an exhibition highlighting the scale of the rescue effort involved and meet representatives from the police, fire service, St John Ambulance, the British Red Cross and other first responders.
Charles, Camilla and William will then spend time with survivors, bereaved parents, former pupils, siblings of those who died and members of the Aberfan Wives, a support group established for mothers who lost children in the disaster.
The village’s Ynysowen Male Voice Choir will also perform, which was formed in the aftermath of the disaster and became a support group for local men to share their experiences.
During a reception in the community hall, survivors and family members will share personal reflections on the disaster.
Jeff Edwards, who survived the disaster as an eight-year-old pupil at Pantglas School, will deliver remarks before inviting the King to speak.
William will conclude his visit in Aberfan at Ynysowen Community Primary School, where he will unveil the Aberfan Memorial Tree, a new sculpture created to commemorate the 60th anniversary.
The memorial was designed and created by ArtMetal, a family-run metalwork company based in Rhayader, Powys.
The concept was developed by the school’s headteacher, Simone Roden, and Jeff Edwards, vice chair of governors at Ynysowen Community Primary School and a survivor of the Aberfan disaster.
During the early planning stages, pupils were invited to share drawings and ideas for the memorial, helping to shape the vision.
Queen Elizabeth II visited eight days after the tragedy and shortly after a mass funeral had taken place.
Her decision not to visit sooner was said to have been one of the greatest regrets of her reign.
She returned to Aberfan repeatedly throughout her life, visiting three more times and opening Ynysowen Primary School in 2012.
Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales, visited Aberfan in 2016 and privately laid a wreath bearing the words “Er bythol gof a chyda’r cydymdeiumlad dwysaf”, meaning “In continuing memory and deepest sympathy”.
He planted a sweetgum tree in the Aberfan Memorial Garden, spoke to survivors at a reception, and delivered a speech, including a message from the late Queen.
And William previously met survivors of the Aberfan disaster when he visited with the Princess of Wales in 2023.
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