This afternoon, the Prince and Princess of Wales attended ceremonies in London to mark Holocaust Memorial Day. 
Above, you see them being welcomed by Olivia Marks-Woldman, the chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and its chairwoman of trustees, Laura Marks. The Jewish News reports the Princess told Ms. Marks-Woldman the commemorations are “…so important…it is great to be here today with my husband.”
More on the service from the Evening Standard’s story.
The annual event remembers the six million Jewish people murdered during the Holocaust, as well as the millions of other people killed under Nazi persecution and those who died in subsequent genocides.
Today’s memorial service at the Guildhall in London was put on by the Trust. 
If you are curious about why this date was chosen for the commemoration, January 27 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. It was an enormous complex, the largest of the Nazi camps; more than 1.1 million people were murdered at the location.
More from the BBC’s coverage.
The Princess of Wales hugged and held hands with the elderly survivors at the poignant London Holocaust memorial event, which was also attended by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The Prince delivered remarks at today’s ceremony. 
I am honoured to join you today to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and to remember the millions murdered during the Holocaust and in subsequent genocides.
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 are extremely powerful and ensure we never forget.
I assure them, we never will.
The Prince also spoke about his great-grandmother Princess Alice, Prince Philip’s mother, and her efforts to protect a Jewish widow and her family—more from the BBC piece.
She had saved the Cohen family by hiding them in her Athens home, until the liberation of Greece.
Alice has been born deaf and Prince William said she had used it to her advantage to frustrate the questions of suspicious Nazis.
For her efforts in 1993 Princess Alice was given the title Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Israel.
The couple joined others in lighting candles to honor those who lost their lives. 
Another view. 
Earlier today, King Charles made the first visit by a British monarch to Auschwitz-Birkenau. You see him with Belgium’s Queen Mathilde in this photo.
Embed from Getty Images
The service is held under a tent erected at the main entrance to the concentration camp.
In this image, you see King Charles, King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s President (second row, behind and to the left of King Frederik).
Embed from Getty Images
After the service, the King toured the facility and placed a wreath at what is known as the Death Wall. Embed from Getty Images
Earlier this month, King Charles met with 94-year-old Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg and his wife, Shary Goldberg, at a Buckingham Palace reception hosted by the King. 
You may recall the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meeting Mr. Goldberg and Zigi Shipper in 2017 while on their tour of Poland and Germany. The two boys became lifelong friends after meeting in the camp. Mr. Shipper said that Mr. Goldberg saved his life by supporting him on the final 1945 death march when the boys were just 15. 
As part of activities marking Holocaust Remembrance Day in 2021, the Duchess spoke by video call with Mr. Shipper and Mr. Manfred. Sadly, Mr. Shipper died in January of 2023. 
In 2022, she reconnected with Manfred and Shary Goldberg at a Buckingham Palace garden party. 
More from The Daily Mail’s story.
Both the Prince and Princess discussed their desire to teach their children about the Holocaust, with William saying: ‘George is getting to the age where he’s starting to understand things. So it’s getting interesting to talk to him about what happened.’
Apologising that they couldn’t spend longer talking, he said: ‘There is a lot of history at this table, we need to hear it all.’
You may recall the Duchess took part in a 2020 project featuring 75 Holocaust survivors and their families; she shot photo portraits of two families. Below, the Duchess viewing the photo portraits at the Imperial War Museum in 2022.
The Princess’s 2020 portraits featured survivor Stephen Frank and his granddaughters, Maggie and Trixie. Mr. Frank was imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic.
Here, you see the Duchess with the Frank family before the shoot got underway. 
Today, the Princess was reunited with Mr. Frank at a reception held before the start of the memorial service. 
More from Victoria Ward’s coverage in The Telegraph.
Ahead of the service, the Princess shared a warm hug with Steven Frank, who thanked her for sending him a Christmas card as the two chatted about his family.
Speaking afterwards, Stephen Frank, who was just nine and imprisoned at Theresienstadt when Auschwitz was liberated in 1945, said of his reunion with the Princess: “She’s just such a darling, you know? She’s just such a lovely person… She’s warm and kind and just a lovely person. [It was] lovely to see her.
“And she looked well, I thought. I asked her how she was, and she said she was fine, and that’s a good thing too.”
Mr. Frank spoke about the Prince and Princess in this People article.
“Both she and Prince William have been extremely interested in the Holocaust and the Memorial Day. William has been in the press with Holocaust survivors and his father [King Charles] is patron of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. There is an interest particularly in letting people know what happened, getting their testimony and passing it along to other generations,” Frank said.
“They are genuinely interested in what we are doing and the Holocaust Memorial Trust and what we are trying to do for the younger generation.”
The Princess also reconnected with Yvonne Bernstein, another survivor.
Below, the Duchess and Ms. Bernstien before their Kensington Palace shoot. 
Another of the photo portraits taken by the Duchess, Ms. Bernstein with her granddaughter, Chloe Wright. 
Another view of the Princess of Wales and Yvonne Bernstein today. 
Another hug.
Victoria Ward of The Telegraph posted two quick videos of the Princess chatting with Mr. Frank and Ms.Bernstein.
The Princess of Wales – wearing a five-string pearl necklace that belonged to the late Queen – warmly greeted Holocaust survivors Stephen Frank and Yvonne Bernstein, telling Mr Frank: “It’s like seeing an old friend, it really is.” pic.twitter.com/OPVA3HAmNu
— Victoria Ward (@victoria_ward) January 27, 2025
A group photo was taken with all fifty Holocaust survivors, the Prince and Princess, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. 
Now, we make the difficult turn to fashion and what Kate wore today. She was in a Catherine Walker coat she has worn before. The single-breasted style features peaked lapels, a fitted silhouette, a slight flare at the cuff, and three buttons at the cuff. 
The coat was first noted in September 2022, when the Prince and Princess viewed floral tributes left at Sandringham to honor the late Queen Elizabeth II. We saw it a second time for an engagement at the Hayes Muslim Centre in March 2023.
Beneath the coat, it looked like the Princess wore her Boden Cashmere Crewneck (the current version is available here), and her Roland Mouret Axon Trousers. 
She accessorized with her Chanel handbag and Russell and Bromley 100 Point Pumps. 
The Princess debuted a five-strand pearl necklace today, and brought back the Bahrain Pearl and Diamond Drop Earrings. The Telegraph’s Victoria Ward reports the necklace belonged to the late Queen.
UPDATE 8 PM Jan 27: It turns out the necklace is not a piece that belonged to the Queen. Rather, it appears to be from Susan Caplan, a London jeweler specializing in vintage designs. More from this InStyle piece by Lara Walsh.
Meanwhile, a five-string pearl necklace–a design from Jewish-owned, London vintage jewelry dealer Susan Caplan–added some shine to Kate’s black sweater.
And here is a post on the Susan Caplan Instagram page. 
Here is a style shown on the jeweler’s site (£275, about $340 at today’s exchange rates). I don’t know that it is this necklace, simply a similar look. The description for this necklace reads, “Rhodium-plated 5-row pearl strand necklace. Features luminous faux pearls in graduating sizes. Closes with embellished Swarovski crystal clasp, weighted extension chain and hook. Rhodium plate, faux pearls and Swarovski crystals.”
A very similar Susan Caplan style is available at FarFetch ($150).
Ms. Caplan has worked in the vintage jewelry industry for more than 40 years and she personally selects all styles she chooses to sell. She launched Susan Caplan in 2008, and her jewelry is available at her shop, as well as at Mappin and Webb, Harvey Nichols, Net-a-Porter, and Farfetch. Thank you to all those who got in touch to let me know about this! As a vintage jewelry collector, it’s a delight to see the Princess in this style.
The Princess also wore the Nigel Milne triple-strand pearl bracelet, shown below as worn on previous occasions. 
We’ll close with a video posted by Kensington Palace.
A solemn moment of remembrance and hope for the future at today’s Holocaust Memorial Day service. Honoured to take part in this important event to commemorate the lives lost in the Holocaust and other genocides. pic.twitter.com/JNw1M5oZSW
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) January 27, 2025
And here is a second video, this one from Buckingham Palace.
This evening, The King visited Auschwitz 1 where he viewed a collection of personal items confiscated from victims upon their arrival at the camp and passed through the ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ gate before laying a wreath at the Death Wall in commemoration of all those who were… pic.twitter.com/3brXXyh1zB
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) January 27, 2025
VIDEOS:
The Royal Family Channel offers more than 4 minutes of coverage from today’s service.
Buckingham Palace released a video of the King at a Jewish community center in Poland earlier today.
This Holocaust Memorial Day, The King has visited Krakow’s Jewish Community Centre, a vital hub that fosters connection between the Jewish community and the city.
Inspired by a memorable meeting in 2002 with Holocaust survivors, including Ryszard Orowski, The King’s… pic.twitter.com/Wq2UwescWS
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) January 27, 2025
