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For kids, growing up entails having more serious conversations with their parents. Eleven-year-old Prince George is at an age where he is becoming more open and understanding of certain issues, so Prince William and Kate Middleton feel obligated to talk to him about more important matters, especially when it involves the rich history of their nation and its neighboring countries.
On Monday, Jan. 27, the royal couple attended the Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony, which commemorates the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. During their interactions with the attendees who showed ups to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and the many others who suffered under Nazi persecution and the genocides, Prince William, 42, and Middleton, 43, revealed their commitment to educating their children, especially their eldest child, about this dark chapter in history.
After hearing some of the stories of the Holocaust survivors, the heir to the British throne admitted that Prince George is reaching an age where he is beginning to grasp these weighty topics. “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,” he shared, according to the Mirror.
What’s interesting here is just days before the event, Prince William casually disclosed at another royal engagement in Liverpool that he’s been having a hard time getting his children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6 — to open up to him about their experiences at school. He indirectly revealed that they are mostly tight-lipped when asked questions like, “Did you have a good day at school?,” or, “Learnt anything new today?”
“I ask my children this every day, and they always say nothing. Absolutely nothing,” he told the students during his visit to Tiber’s Young People’s Steering Group in Toxteth on Jan. 23.
Meanwhile, at the Holocaust Memorial event, Middleton — whose appearance at the ceremony was revealed to be a last-minute decision from her after breaking the news of her cancer’s remission — had an emotional reunion with two Holocaust survivors she photographed for a special remembrance project five years before.
The Princess of Wales warmly embraced Yvonne Bernstein and Stephen Frank, greeting them like old friends. Holding Bernstein’s hand as they reminisced of their past interaction, the mother of three expressed how much she cherished their reunion, calling it a “treat” to see her again.
“You’ve had such a hard time, haven’t you?” Middleton reportedly said to the 87-year-old, after learning of her recent health struggles. The heartfelt moment between the two women was one of many powerful exchanges during the poignant gathering, aside from when the future queen shared a warm hug with Frank, 89, who thanked her for sending him a Christmas card over the holidays.
Sadly, there was not enough time for the royal couple to meet and listen to all of the harrowing narratives from the attendees, so Prince William apologized to them and told them, “There is a lot of history at this table, we need to hear it all.”
During the ceremony, he addressed the survivors in his speech, saying, “[Your] bravery, in sharing with us the most harrowing moments of [your] lives, is extremely powerful and ensures that we never forget. I assure them we never will.”
The ceremony ended with the royal couple taking center stage to lead the lighting of the candles as a symbol of honoring the important stories of the many lives lost and spared from the Holocaust. It’s also an assurance that these stories will live on through the likes of Prince George, the future king, and the youth who will one day continue this tradition.