King, Queen and Prince William to join Aberfan 60th anniversary on 21 October

Mixed · 2King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Prince William will make a rare joint visit to Aberfan, south Wales, to mark the 60th anniversary of the 1966 disaster, according to the Daily Mirror, which says Buckingham Palace announced it. 1 2 Right · 1The Daily Mail says the visit falls on 21 October, 60 years to the day after a colliery waste tip collapsed onto Pantglas Junior School and neighbouring houses. 2 Mixed · 2The disaster killed 144 people, mostly children; the Mail gives the toll as 116 schoolchildren and 28 adults, while the Mirror says 116 pupils and five teachers were among the dead. 2 1

Left · 1The Mirror reports the programme: a short prayer and moment of silence at the Aberfan Memorial Garden, which stands on the site of Pantglas School, with Charles and William laying wreaths and Camilla a posy. 1 Left · 1They will then go to the Aberfan & Merthyr Vale Community Centre to hear from people with first-hand experience, including a 96-year-old former police officer and retired emergency workers, and to meet survivors and bereaved parents including members of the Aberfan Wives group; the King will make a speech. 1 Left · 1William will unveil a new Aberfan Memorial Tree sculpture at Ynysowen Community Primary School. 1

Left · 1Survivor Jeff Edwards, who was eight and was among the last pulled from the slurry, will share his experiences. 1 Right · 1The Mail reports that the King has asked to meet Gareth Jones, now 66, who as a six-year-old survivor was photographed with Prince Philip the day after the disaster; Jones, recently in hospital with a serious lung condition, told the paper he is determined to attend and will show the King the photograph. 2 Right · 1The Mail also says the King and Queen will open the Senedd in Cardiff this week, where a child will present them with a posy. 2

Right · 1A palace source quoted by the Mail said the attendance reflects the royal family's longstanding connection with Aberfan and is a chance to pay respects and hear how the community supported one another. 2 Mixed · 2Both papers recall that Queen Elizabeth II did not visit until eight days after the disaster, on the advice of her private secretary Lord Charteris, who thought her presence would hamper rescue work; she is said to have come to regard the delay as one of the biggest mistakes of her reign. 2 1 Mixed · 2The Mirror adds that she later returned three more times and opened a new school in 2012, and that on the 50th anniversary a personal message from her was delivered by the then Prince Charles; Gareth Jones told the Mail he believes she was right to hold back as a mark of respect. 1 2