Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, made a surprise appearance today and joined her husband, Prince William, at a ceremony to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau at the London based Guildhall’s Great Hall. This was Kate’s second public appearance of the new year. On January 14, Princess Kate visited The Royal Marsden, a Cancer hospital where Kate received her cancer treatment last year.
The event brought together faith and civic leaders as well as survivors of the Holocaust and more recent genocides. William and Kate met survivors from the Holocaust and heard their personal stories. The Palace announced in the morning that the Princess of Wales will be joining her husband at the engagement which was originally pencilled only for the Prince of Wales.
Holocaust Memorial Day is an annual day of remembrance held on January 27 to honor the millions of people who suffered and perished during the Holocaust, as well as other genocides. It marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp, by Soviet forces on January 27, 1945.
The 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 2025 is a particularly significant milestone. This anniversary serves as a powerful reminder of the horrors endured by those imprisoned in Auschwitz and other camps, where approximately 1.1 million people, predominantly Jews, were murdered. It also highlights the importance of education and remembrance to ensure such events are never forgotten or repeated.
William and Kate had an emotional reunion with Holocaust survivors whom they have met in the past. They met Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank, whom Kate Middleton photographed in 2020. On the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day in 2020, Kensington palace unveiled photos that Princess Kate took of two Holocaust survivors alongside their grandchildren. The portraits were part of a larger exhibit organized by the Holocaust Memorial Trust, Jewish News and Royal Photographic Society bringing together 75 powerful images of survivors and their family members to mark 75 years since the Holocaust ended.
William and Kate visited Stutthof Concentration Camp in Gdansk in Poland in 2017. 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 The Prince and Princess of Wales attended the national event in London, King Charles was in Poland for the 80th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation, becoming the first British monarch to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
What Princess Kate wore to 2025 Holocaust Memorial Day
Kate Middleton chose an all black outfit paired with pearls for the sombre event. Princess Kate was wearing a long black wool coat that she first wore in September 2022 during Sandringham visit after Queen Elizabeth II’s death. The Princess of Wales paired the coat with a black jumper and Roland Mouret Axon Wide-leg Trousers. She was wearing her black Russell and Bromley 100 Point Blade Heel Court Shoes and carried a Chanel Mini Square Classic bag that she first carried in the 2023 England vs. Fiji Rugby World Cup Game.
Kate teamed up her all black ensemble with contrasting pearls. We saw the return of Queen Elizabeth II’s Bahrain Pearl Drop Earrings along with Lady Diana’s Triple Strand Pearl Bracelet and a debut of Susan Caplan Vintage 5 Strand Faux Pearl Necklace (Thanks to Laura on X for id).
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