Prince William has given an assurance at the UK’s national Holocaust ceremony to “never forget” those who perished, while recognizing the bravery of survivors who continue to “share with us the most harrowing moments of their lives.”
Speaking at a moving event, held at London’s Guildhall and marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The Duke of Cambridge, who attended with his wife Kate, pledged survivors in the audience watched on.
William said: “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.”
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Prince Williams delivers a speech during a ceremony to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day
(Photo: Photo: Arthur Edwards / Reuters)
He added: ”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 is extremely powerful and ensures we never forget. “I assure them, we never will.”
The Duke and Duchess, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and other senior government ministers had joined survivors at a pre-ceremony reception at the iconic venue, where they were pictured line-up together in poignant fashion.
This year’s theme For A Better Future, emphasized the importance of the next generation carrying on telling the story of the Shoah.
The Princess of Wales hugged and held hands with Holocaust survivors and described her attendance at the event with her husband as “a great honor.”
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Catherine, Princess of Wales, embraces Yvonne Bernstein as she attends a ceremony to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day
(Photo: Photo: Arthur Edwards / Reuters)
William, wearing a navy suit and blue tie, and Kate, wearing all black, were greeted on arrival by Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and its chairwoman of trustees Laura Marks.
Speaking to Marks-Woldman, Kate Middleton described the commemorations as “so important”, adding: “It is great to be here today with my husband.” The pair were then shown to the Old Library where they met with two tables of survivors and their families.
After having formal handshakes, Kate gave one survivor, Yvonne Bernstein, 87, a warm hug before they clasped each other’s hands as they sat together and spoke. The princess said: “(It is) such a treat for me (to see) an old friend.”
On the second table, Kate also hugged and spoke at length with fellow survivor Steven Frank BEM, 89.
The princess photographed Frank to mark the 75th anniversary commemorations in 2020.
Later the PM spoke on stage at Monday’s Holocaust Memorial Day 2025 event, screened on BBC1 tonight, recalling his recent visit to Block 27 at the Auschwitz site searching for members of his wife Victioria’s family in the Book of Names.
“We turned page after page after page just to find the first letter of a name,” he said. ” It gave me an overwhelming sense of the sheer scale of this industrialized murder.
“And every one of those names, like the names we were looking for – was an individual person. Someone’s mother, father, brother, sister brutally murdered, simply because they were Jewish.” Starmer said the Holocaust was a “collective endeavor” by ordinary people “consumed by the hatred of difference”.
The UK National Ceremony was opened fittingly by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust’s chair Laura Marks OBE who spoke of the collective responsibility of all to stand up to prejudice and hatred in all its forms, while honoring the memory of the six million Jewish people who were dehumanized and brutally murdered.
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King Charles III is presented with a gift created by children of the Frajda Preschool and Nursery, the first Jewish children's facility of its kind to open in Krakow since the Holocaust
(Photo: Victoria Jones - Pool / Getty Images)
Earlier King Charles drew sustained applause from survivors and World Jewish Relief officials alike with his warm words at a special appearance at the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow on Monday — the center he helped to found 16 years ago.
“To be in Poland on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, as we commemorate 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, is both a somber and indeed a sacred moment. It is a moment when we recall the six million Jews, old and young, who were systematically murdered, together with Sinti, Roma, disabled people, members of the LGBT community political prisoners and so many others," the king said.
This article is reprinted with permission from the Jewish News