King joins Aberfan families to remember 144 victims of 1966 school landslide

King Charles has met the last survivor rescued from the Aberfan disaster as the nation marks 60 years since the tragedy that claimed the lives of 116 children and 28 adults.

On October 21, 1966, an estimated 150,000 tons of coal waste tore down the mountainside and swept through the Welsh village, burying Pantglas Junior School and destroying the lives of an entire generation.

The deadly landslide followed three weeks of relentless rain. Mining waste excavated from Merthyr Vale Colliery became unstable before breaking loose and roaring down the slope.

For years, the spoil had been heaped on Mynydd Merthyr above Aberfan, despite the presence of several underground springs beneath the site.

Pupils at Pantglas Junior School were preparing to begin their lessons when around 1.5 million cubic feet of liquefied slurry struck the building and nearby homes.

Approximately half of the school’s children were killed in the disaster, which occurred on the final day before the half-term break.

Mining officials had previously been warned about the risk of “flowslides”. Yet although a 76-day public inquiry concluded that responsibility rested with the National Coal Board, no one was prosecuted, demoted or otherwise held criminally accountable.

The King, Queen Camilla and the Prince of Wales visited the close-knit former mining community to meet survivors and families who lost loved ones, including Mair Morgan, the final surviving teacher from Pantglas Junior School.

Jeff Edwards OBE, who was eight when he was pulled from the rubble, was also present. He became known to the late Queen Elizabeth II as “the little boy with blond hair”.

Mr Edwards said the Royal Family had maintained its support for Aberfan “over a long period” since the disaster. The late Queen’s decision to visit the village eight days after the tragedy was reportedly regarded as the greatest regret of her 70-year reign.

“Those connections with the royal family go back for a very long way. And I know they will continue,” he told the Daily Mail.

He recalled that Lord Snowdon was the first member of the Royal Family’s circle to reach Aberfan on the day of the disaster. Snowdon later briefed Princess Margaret, who established a toy fund for the children, before the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the village.

Mr Edwards noted that the King had previously visited Aberfan twice. “He’s come back now with the current Queen and with the Duke of the Prince of Wales,” he added.

The Royal Family’s public show of solidarity came as Prince Harry said in a separate interview that he remained eager to rebuild family ties, although “some people don’t want it to work out”.

He said disputes between siblings and fractured relationships between parents and their children were “massively relatable” subjects that frequently arose in conversations with members of the public.

“People look at us, and go, ‘How are you going to work it out?’” Harry said. “Some people don’t want it to work out. I want it to work out.”

Ahead of the royal visit, crowds amassed in the small village in south Wales to welcome them.

Charles, Camilla and William will visit the Aberfan Memorial Garden, which is located on the site of the junior school, and the nearby Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre.

They will join survivors, bereaved parents and members of the community to pay tribute to all those who lost their lives.

A short prayer and a moment of silence will be held, during which The King and The Prince of Wales will lay wreaths, and The Queen will place a posy.

At the community centre the royal party will meet retired members of the emergency services who helped in the hours and days after the disaster.

They will then spend time with survivors, bereaved parents, and siblings of those who died.

Later, Prince William will visit Ynysowen Community Primary School where he will unveil the Aberfan Memorial Tree, a new sculpture created to commemorate the anniversary.

It comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited Aberfan on Monday, where he spoke with survivors and bereaved families and laid a wreath in memory of those who died. 

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions today, Mr Burnham said: ‘Today also marks the 60th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster. I am sure the thoughts of the whole House will be with the community today, and with the people of Wales.

‘I visited on Monday and heard how the injustices people suffered at the time and in the aftermath of the tragedy at the hands of the state still hurt.

‘This is a day to recognise that, say sorry for it, but celebrate the strength and spirit of a community that has stood together through adversity all of these years.’

Queen Elizabeth II visited eight days after the tragedy and shortly after a mass funeral had taken place, a move that was said to be the greatest regret of her 70-year long reign.

The Queen’s former secretary, Lord Charteris, previously revealed he felt he had given the monarch poor advice to ‘stay away [from Aberfan] until the preliminary shock had worn off’.

However, when she arrived in the mining village in its darkest hour, she was met with respect and adoration by locals as she became ‘really upset’ and ‘had to compose herself’ before meeting those who had lost loved ones.

CONTINUE READING: Abby Hensel, one of the conjoined twins from 'Abby & Brittany,' gets married – NewsFinale

‘If she’d come on the day, it would have impeded the rescue process because any royal visit does have an entourage with it; I think she came at the right time,’ Jeff said. 

‘She was really upset; she started to get tears in her eyes when Councillor Jim Williams’s granddaughter presented her the posy, which was inscribed from the surviving children.’

Throughout her reign, she visited several times and later gave a personal donation to the Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Youth and Community project, which later received the Golden Jubilee Award.

The initiative, of which the late Queen was ‘very supportive’, was co-founded by Jeff to support locals after he saw a rise in drug and alcohol use in the area in the decades that followed the disaster.

‘Lots of young people who traditionally went into the mining industry were unemployed because of the colliery closures, were stealing cars and were buying alcohol and drugs to alleviate the hopelessness of both of their lives,’ he explained.

In 1997, she also insisted on altering her schedule to go to the village while on an official visit to Merthyr Tydfil. She made her final visit for Aberfan in 2012 when she opened Ynysowen Community Primary School.

Charles, who was then the prince of Wales, visited Aberfan in 2016 and privately laid a wreath bearing the words ‘Er bythol gof a chyda’r cydymdeiumlad dwysaf’, meaning ‘In continuing memory and deepest sympathy’.

He planted a sweetgum tree in the Aberfan Memorial Garden and spoke to survivors at a reception before delivering a speech that included a message from the late Queen.

William previously met survivors of the Aberfan disaster when he visited with the Princess of Wales in 2023.

On the day of the tragedy, it was observed at 7.30am that a coal tip had sunk by around 10ft. Coal bosses were told at 9am, as a worker had to walk to them because there were no phone lines on the mountain. By this time the tip had sunk another 10ft.

Just 15 minutes later, coal tip No7 collapsed, sending 150,000 tons of slurry barrelling into 240 schoolchildren at Pantglas Junior School, their teachers and 19 homes on Moy Road.

Local residents were left with no choice but to take £150,000 from a memorial fund to pay for the clean-up bill. This was eventually returned after decades of campaigning.

First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth, who will attend the remembrance event, described Aberfan as ‘one of the darkest days in our nation’s history’.

‘The events of 21st October 1966 devastated the community of Aberfan. It robbed a generation of its children of their futures in a matter of moments,’ he said ahead of the anniversary.

‘Hearing stories of that day is an early memory that left a deep and lasting effect on me.

‘It brought home to me the horror of that day for all those who were there, and who lived to bear witness to what happened.

‘The story of Aberfan will never be forgotten. It is a story of the most terrible loss and grief. But also a story of the resilience of a community over six decades.’

Ahead of the milestone, Stephen Kinnock, Secretary of State for Wales, said: ‘The community of Aberfan suffered a loss so profound that it remains etched into the memory of our nation.

‘Today, we remember each and every one of them.

‘Aberfan is a community that has shown extraordinary strength, resilience and dignity in the face of such devastating tragedy, coming together time and again to ensure that all who were lost there are never forgotten.’

Archbishop of Wales Cherry Vann said: ‘Today, as we commemorate that heartbreaking day, our thoughts and prayers are with the people of a community which has shown, in face of unbearable suffering, the most inspiring resilience and strength.

‘We offer our prayers for all across Wales and beyond who are touched by today’s commemorations.’

Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the disaster, a shocking report revealed that around one in ten families in Wales are still living near ‘high risk’ coal tips that are becoming increasingly unsafe due to the impacts of climate change.

There are 2,589 disused coal tips scattered throughout Wales, hundreds of which have been labelled Category C and D, requiring more frequent monitoring because they pose a higher risk.

In January 2025, an FOI request by BBC Wales found 13 coal tips had been upgraded to a higher risk category since November 2022, with 11 of those upgraded to the most serious categories – C and D.

Fresh concerns arose in November 2024, after Storm Bert sparked a ‘washout of a former coal tip’ in Cwmtillery, Blaenau Gwent, forcing residents to leave their homes and stay in a leisure centre overnight.

That same year, the UK Government pledged £25million to Welsh coal tip safety for 2025-26 as well as further funding of £39.3million a year until 2029.

A new report has revealed that more than 130,000 households in Wales are close to coal tips, which pose a risk to public safety amid fears of the consequences of extreme weather such as heavy rain in the area.